Forgotten Fruits
by YaoiPrincess
Summary: Akito has ordered Hatori to erase Tohru's memory, and that Tohru is to never associate with the Sohmas again. But something is different about Akito.. what is it? And what will become of Tohru and the others once her memory is gone?
1. Chapter 01

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Forgotten Fruits Chapter 01

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or any of the characters in this. Don't sue me or I'll kick your ass. Well, not really, but y'know. XD

  
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The room was as dark and cold as death. Hatori couldn't remember it ever being this cold, even in winter. All the windows were closed and the curtains pulled across so that minimal sunlight could filter into the room. There was no warmth, there was no light. Just darkness and ice.

Hatori felt it, gripping his chest tightly like a merciless vice, as he opened the door and stepped inside. It hit him like a sledgehammer to concrete. The way the air in the room felt now was the first clue that told Hatori something wasn't right. It was so stagnant, so dead. It was so silent in that room that Hatori couldn't even hear the birds singing outside. How could this room have changed so quickly? Hatori had been in here two days ago, and while it had been cool it wasn't uncomfortably cold. Besides, it was summer. Even with the windows and curtains closed, how was it possible for the air to get to such a low temperature? There was no air conditioning in the house. Hatori found this all extremely unnerving. Still, with a deep breath he entered the room, keeping his discomfort hidden well.

"Akito...san?" Hatori whispered into the gloomy darkness. He could make out the black figure of his cousin on the other side of the room, sitting on the floor and leaning against the middle of the wall. "You wished to see me?"

"Hatori." The quiet voice came from the human-shaped shadow by the wall. "Please come and sit down with me." Hatori thought that his voice felt just as cold as the air in his room, but did not dare voice this thought. He did as he was instructed and sat down on the mat a few metres from Akito.

"How are you feeling today, Akito-san?" Hatori asked in a composed voice. 

"My health is fine." Akito replied, and Hatori thought he could feel his cousin's gaze upon him, though he couldn't see it. "I called you here to talk about the girl." He explained in his slow, quiet, toneless voice.

"The girl?... You mean Honda-san?" Hatori asked, being careful not to call her by the more friendly name he usually used, Tohru-kun. "Honda Tohru-san?"

Akito chuckled, and though it was barely audible Hatori could feel the malice erupting from it. "Honda Tohru-san... a girl who meddles in what ought not to be meddled in..."

"What do you mean?" Hatori asked calmly, not taking his eyes off the dark figure before him. Where was this leading? And why had Akito brought up the subject of Tohru so suddenly, when he hadn't mentioned her in months?

"I see her, Hatori..." whispered Akito, in a whisper that almost brought a shiver to Hatori's spine. "When I close my eyes I see her..."

There was silence. Hatori considered asking Akito what he meant, but instead sat quietly, deciding it would be wise not to interrupt whatever Akito had to say. His eyes wandered down to the floor as Akito continued. 

"I see her... and Yuki, and Kyou... it makes me _sick_." He spat the last word, as if speaking of this was something foul and disgusting. "And even Shigure... he has been blinded by her. They think she can save us... our family... but they are blind. They do not see the truth. She has pulled wool over their eyes and they don't even realise it." Akito turned his head slowly and a lonely beam of light reflected in his dark eyes. To Hatori they looked like a pair of evil, glowing eyes hovering in a world of pure darkness. Akito was staring straight at him. "Hatori... I only ask one thing of you now..."

"Hai, Akito-san."

  
"Erase the girl's memory..."

"Nani?!" Hatori said quickly. "Erase her memory? Why? Why now?"

"She has become too close to Yuki and Kyou for my comfort. I want her gone. She is a threat to our family. No one can understand us. Even she will betray us in the end. She cannot save us."

"But Akito-san, she is doing no harm living at Shigure's..."

"Shut up!!" Akito growled, getting to his feet. Hatori watched him cautiously. "This is an order, Hatori! I'm telling you to erase her memory! ...And the memories of anyone who knows she is living in Shigure's house. Do you understand?"

Hatori sat in silence, his fists clenched tightly on his knees. 

"_Hatori._ Do you understand!?" Akito yelled angrily.

With a deep sigh, Hatori nodded. "...Hai, Akito-san."

"Good. I want it done by tomorrow. Make sure you find any of her friends that know where she is currently living. They will get suspicious if she has suddenly forgotten Shigure and the other two. And I want you to make sure, Hatori..." the icy stab of a thousand knives was thick in Akito's voice now, "...that the Sohmas never associate themselves with her again. After her memory is erased, it's the end." 

"Hai, Akito-san..." sighed Hatori. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he had no power to stop it. He knew he couldn't oppose Akito. Akito was the master of the Sohma family. When Akito ordered you to do something, you did it. And if you didn't, you were in trouble.

"Good, Hatori." Akito said in a sickeningly soothing voice. "You may leave now."

"Hai, Akito-san. I will go to Shigure's house now." He got to his feet and bowed to his cousin, his master, then turned and silently left. When he entered the hallway outside and closed the door to Akito's room, he was incredibly grateful for the pleasant summer heat. He was almost sure that, while talking with Akito, his insides had completely frozen. The summer air was warming him up quickly, but he still felt colder than Akito's chilled room. 

He sighed, leaning against a wall and closing his eyes. _Hatori,_ he thought to himself,_ what are you going to do now?_

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Hatori was at Shigure's front door, standing so still he could have been a wax figure. He was contemplating whether he would open it or not. He knew what he would have to do if he went inside that house. He knew what he would have to say. He knew how they would all react. They would be angry at him, so angry. He was angry at himself even, and angry at Akito. Akito knew that he, Shigure and the others all cared deeply for Tohru. He knew she was having a positive effect on the family. And now he was going to take all of that away, simply because of his spite and hatred towards a curse he had been given at birth. 

And Tohru... he knew Tohru would hate him when he told her what he would have to do. He would be taking a part of her away forever. He would be taking away some of her most precious memories, and the most precious times in her life. She loved living here. She loved being with the Sohmas. And now, all of it was going to be taken away from her, wrenched from her loving grasp to be thrown into the great nothingness of forgotten memories.

And what about Shigure? Shigure was his best friend. How would Shigure react? He, surely, would also hate him, as would Kyou and Yuki when they found out. Hatori wasn't planning on telling them tonight, only Shigure and Tohru, but he knew they would find out soon after. Swallowing uncomfortably he began to slowly raise his hand towards the door.

But all of a sudden the door slid open before Hatori had the chance to even touch it. In surprise he backed away quickly and gazed wide-eyed into the familiar face of his best friend.

"Ha-san," Shigure began, with a mildly amused expression upon his face, "You've been standing out here for ten minutes. What is the matter?"

Hatori almost couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say; no words would come to him. All he could manage was a stuttered, "Shi-shigure..."

"Aha!" Shigure suddenly blurted, pointing straight up into the air. "I see it now! You've come to declare your undying love for Tohru-kun!! Oh my!! You're like a blushing teenager preparing to tell his high school sweetheart his feelings, unable to bring himself to knock on his crush's door---"

"_Shigure!_" Hatori said in a warning tone, almost angrily. Shigure's voice halted. His hand slowly lowered back down to his side, and he stared at his friend with surprised, dark eyes. Silence fell between them.

"Shigure? Hurry up and come back inside, Honda-san's dinner is almost ready!" An annoyed-sounding Yuki called from inside the house.

"We were just about to have dinner," Shigure said quietly, staring straight into Hatori's eyes. "Would you like to join us, Ha-san?"

Hatori sighed. "Shigure... I'm afraid what I have to tell you will probably take away your appetite..." He looked away at one of the windows on Shigure's house. He couldn't look into his best friend's eyes. "It's not good, Shigure... Akito-san called me over today and gave me some orders... it's important that I tell you them right away. I won't stay for dinner, but please won't you come for a quick walk?"

Shigure was silent for a few moments. He sighed and looked over at the forest behind Hatori. Then he turned towards the inside of the house and yelled, "Tohru-kun, put my dinner in the oven, I'm going out for a few minutes!"

"Nani?" Came Tohru's voice. Hatori winced at the sound of it. That sweet, innocent voice. She had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow. She appeared at the doorway next to Shigure, peering up at Hatori curiously.

"Actually..." Hatori started, "Tohru-kun had better come along too."

"Ara?" Tohru blinked, her green eyes shining in the evening sunlight. "Why? What's wrong?"

Hatori tried to give her a comforting smile, but instead of making her feel better it only made _him_ feel worse. He couldn't smile at this girl, not when he knew what he was going to be taking from her all too soon.

Shigure, sensing Hatori's discomfort, decided to get the ball rolling. He was curious as to what Hatori had to say. "Well, come along Tohru-kun," he said, closing the door behind him and starting towards the forest. Hatori walked along beside him and Tohru quickly followed a few metres behind.

Tohru was feeling very uncomfortable herself. She allowed Shigure and Hatori to walk a few metres ahead so she had some space to herself. For some reason she wanted to walk slowly at her own pace and not try to keep up with them. For some reason, she didn't _want_ to be walking with them. She didn't know what was going on, and it was horribly confusing for her. It was worrying her. She could feel her heart pounding inside her chest. Judging by the way Hatori had acted, she could tell he had some bad news. Sighing, she lowered her head and stared down at the dirt as she walked. 

A few minutes later Shigure had led them to a quiet, secluded part of the forest. It was a small clearing surrounded by tall trees. There were a few large tree stumps here, of which Shigure chose one and made himself comfortable upon. Hatori did the same and Tohru, who arrived at the clearing last, chose a smaller stump to sit on next to Shigure. Looking around, she recognised this little clearing. She sometimes came here when she wanted some peace and quiet; she could just sit down and think about things without being disturbed.

Leaning back on his hands, Hatori sighed and glanced up at the orangey sky above. The sun was setting; it would get dark soon. He would have to make this talk as quick as possible. But where could he start? His throat felt dry. He didn't want to begin.

"Ha-san," Shigure's calm voice penetrated the cold silence between the three people. "What did you need to tell us?"

Hatori lowered his eyes and looked straight into Shigure's dark gaze. "Shigure... Tohru-kun," He glanced down at Tohru as he said her name, but then his eyes fell to the grass between them. "Akito-san called me over today and gave me some orders. He wants Tohru-kun's memory to be erased."

Tohru let out a shocked gasp. Shigure felt all his limbs go stiff.

"Wh-why?!" Tohru asked in a panic. "Why now? I- I-" Her voice trailed off and she stared at Hatori in total disbelief. Was she really hearing this?

"I'm sorry, Tohru-kun, but it's Akito-san's orders, and I cannot go against them." He looked at Shigure, but Shigure did not return the glance. He was staring at the forest to his right, sitting silent and still. It was a sharp contrast from the mood he had been in when he had opened the door to greet Hatori only ten minutes earlier. "He has asked that I erase your memory, and tell Shigure and the others... not to associate with you again after."

Now Shigure was looking at him. It was a look of disbelief and anger.

"This is-- this is--" Shigure began, looking down at the grass. "Stupid. Insane. Outrageous!" He stood up from the tree stump he was sitting upon and glared down at Hatori. "How can he expect us to be fine with this?!"

"I don't know." Hatori replied calmly. "He doesn't like how close Tohru-kun has become with us. He doesn't like it... he wants us to have nothing to do with her."

"Argh!" Shigure grabbed the nearest rock and flung it angrily into the forest. Tohru could hear it smashing into branches and upsetting birds. She watched Shigure in shock. This was the first time she had seen him angry like this. After a few moments Shigure sat down again, letting out a deep sigh. "When does he want her memory erased?" He asked calmly.

"Tomorrow." Hatori replied, not looking at either Tohru nor Shigure.

"Tomorrow?" Tohru asked in a small voice. "Tomorrow? That means... I have less than a day left to spend with Yuki-kun.. and Kyou-kun.. and Shigure-san." 

Shigure glanced down at the young girl and saw tears shimmering in her eyes. In an act of compassion he placed his hand gently over her head. "Tohru-kun..."

"And this time I can't even be friends with you again..." She looked away. She wouldn't let them see her cry. She had to be strong, though it was hard when her insides suddenly felt hollow.

"I am so sorry, Tohru-kun." Hatori apologised. "Also, we have to erase the memories of any friends you have who know you have been living at Shigure's house..."

Tohru sniffed. "Hana-chan and Uo-chan have gone away for the summer holidays," she stated. "They're visiting family."

"I see." Hatori sighed. "Well... we'll have to tend to them when they return."

Then silence overcame the group, swallowing them in its merciless jaws. They sat there together for a long time, watching as the sky above turned deep shades of orange then finally began to fade to dark purple. 

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By the time Shigure and Tohru got back to the house, the sky overhead was already dotted with millions of sparkling stars. Kyou greeted them at the doorway, frantic and wanting to know where they had been and why they took so long.

"Oi! Answer me!" Kyou yelled when Shigure walked into the house, completely ignoring him. He then looked to Tohru, who looked back at him with tears in her eyes. "N-nani?" Kyou asked, his anger dying away and worry replacing it. "What's wrong?" But Tohru also walked past him without saying a word. She followed Shigure to the living room where they both sat down at the table. Kyou quickly joined them.

"Where is Yuki-kun?" Shigure asked Kyou calmly. Kyou, who was completely confused, didn't even have to be asked to go and get Yuki. He stood up straight away and rushed off to find him.

Shigure and Tohru both sat in silence until Kyou returned with Yuki. Yuki was wide-eyed and curious. He sat down with Kyou without making a sound and waited patiently for Shigure to speak.

"Ha-san had bad news," Shigure began. 

All at once Kyou blurted out, "Where is Hatori now?! What's the news? What's going on?!"

"Shut up, baka neko." Yuki said in annoyance. Kyou grumbled something but complied anyway. He wanted to hear what it was that Shigure was going to tell them.

"Ha-san has gone home now," said Shigure, replying to Kyou's question. "The news is that Akito-san has given him some new orders. Tomorrow afternoon, Hatori is going to come to... erase Tohru-kun's memory..." He looked at both Yuki and Kyou solemnly. They stared at him with wide eyes before quickly snapping their heads towards Tohru, who just stared down at the table, her tears flowing freely.

"Honda-san..." Yuki breathed. He then turned toward Shigure again. "Why now, Shigure?!"

"I don't know. Ha-san doesn't even know."

"And you're just going to let this happen?!" Kyou asked angrily through gritted teeth. "How can you?!"

"What else can I do, Kyou-kun?" Shigure replied, noticable anger rising in his voice. "I'll tell you what else I can do - nothing! I can do _nothing_."

"You aren't even going to try!" Kyou spat.

"Baka!" Yuki snarled at Kyou. "Don't take your anger out on Shigure!"

"He's not even going to _attempt_ to try--"

"Because he _can't_!!" Yuki yelled, balling his fists. "This isn't his fault! Leave him alone!"

"You're all fools! Why do I live with you?!" Kyou asked furiously, looking from Yuki to Shigure and then back to Yuki. "You're useless! Don't you even care about her?"

"Of course we care!" Shigure bellowed. "But I can't go against the master of the Sohmas! If he makes a decision, there's nothing that can be done. It's out of my hands--"

"Nothing is ever _in_ your hands, you fool of a dog!" Kyou hissed.

Shigure fell silent. Anger pulsated right through Yuki's body so fast he thought he would erupt. "You're not helping either, _baka neko_--"

"Stop it!" Tohru's shrill voice split through the argument and had all three males staring at her in surprise. "Stop it..." She cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "If this is my last night.. to spend with you all.. then I want it to be a good one.."

"Honda-san.."

"Please... don't fight... this is precious time for me, precious time that I want to be spent on good things... I want to have fun with you all... I want to have a happy time with Yuki-kun, Kyou-kun and Shigure-san. You all make me happy..." She sobbed into her hands. "..A-and I'm going to miss you." 

Shigure sighed, and spoke in a soft, soothing voice. "Let's just make the most of the time we have left together." Yuki and Kyou nodded. 

Tohru slowly looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffing. "I must have done something wrong... something to upset Akito-san.." she said, her voice shaky. "I did something bad..."

"No, Tohru-kun," Shigure interrupted her. "Never. Tohru-kun has never done anything wrong." He got to his feet, a mixture of determination and anger apparent on his face. Without another word he headed for the hallway. Yuki leapt up and followed him, catching him when he was at the foot of the stairs.

"What are you doing?" He asked his older cousin. "Where are you going?"

Shigure stopped and turned to face Yuki. "I'm going to put on my suit and visit Akito-san."

"_Now_?" Yuki said in disbelief. "I don't think Akito-san likes visitors so late, it's dark already..."

"I want answers, Yuki-kun. And I want them now." And with that the dark-haired man climbed up the stairs and disappeared from Yuki's view. Yuki returned to the living room and sat down at the table next to Tohru-kun, feeling both worried and and little dizzy from the shock of the news he had received this evening.

"Honda-san," He said soothingly when he sat down. "It will all be okay. After your memory is erased, I'll just approach you in school and become your friend again, like we were planning that time when we first met and thought your memory might be erased."

Tohru looked down at the table as she spoke. "We can't do that, Yuki-kun... Hatori-san said that Akito-san doesn't want me to have anything to do with your family ever again... he wants me out of here for good..."

"Nani?!" Kyou spat. "This doesn't make sense! And it's all so sudden. What has happened that has angered him like this?"

Yuki sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The fact that he was confused and upset was bad enough, but having Kyou's irritating voice drilling into his head was almost driving him insane. "Baka neko. Can't you stop talking with that annoying voice of yours?"

"What?!" Kyou yelled, grinding his teeth in anger. "Kuso nezumiiii!!" He folded his arms and glared at the far wall. If his stare had been fire, that wall would have erupted in scorching flames right then and there. Kyou's blood was boiling uncontrollably. He needed to get out of there quickly or he knew he would totally explode. Biting his lip and clenching his fists he got to his feet and stormed outside, slamming the door so hard behind him the wood cracked and fell apart.

"Hey!" Shigure had reappeared in his best suit. "You've gotta _pay_ for breaking my house!" He yelled. It was pointless, though, because he was pretty sure Kyou hadn't heard him at all.

Outside in the cool summer air, Kyou climbed angrily up the ladder at the side of the house and clambered onto the roof, a spot he often visited to cool down. He made himself comfortable at the top of the roof and stared out over the deep forest, eyes scanning the tops of the trees. He pulled his knees up to his chest and folded his arms across them.

He needed to think, and he couldn't do that with kuso nezumi around, always criticizing him. Tomorrow afternoon, Tohru's memory would be erased... by Hatori. That damn Hatori. Kyou felt his fists clenching once again; oh how he _hated_ Hatori right now.

A few minutes later he heard the door of the house slide open from below and Shigure's footsteps as he stepped out onto the varandah. 

"Hey." Came the familiar voice from below. Kyou slowly slid forward, down to the edge of the roof and peered down to see Shigure staring up at him solemnly.

"What do you want?" Kyou asked.

"Are you alright?" asked the older, dark-haired Sohma.

Kyou looked away and was silent for a few moments. Then he quickly muttered, "Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Shigure couldn't help but smile. Kyou was so arrogant.

"I'm sorry about all this, Kyou-kun." Shigure then said in the most serious, apologetic voice Kyou had ever heard coming from his clown of a cousin. "I know you don't want it. I don't want it, either. I'm going to go and speak with Akito-san about it. Maybe... maybe I could change his mind."

Kyou still didn't look at him. "I thought you said it was out of your hands."

"Hm. Well, it probably is. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. What's the worst Akito-san could do?"

Kyou suddenly thought of Hatori, and the damage Akito had done to his left eye. Hatori was almost blind in that eye. He was so ashamed of it he even hid it all the time. Kyou suddenly felt a pang of fear rising in his chest. Fear for his cousin.

"O-oi." Kyou murmured, finally looking back to Shigure, who had turned to walk away. "Be careful. Akito-san... is dangerous."

Shigure smiled. "Arigatou, Kyou-kun."

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A/N: Wa-hey. First chapter done. Hope you enjoyed it, and it's my first Furuba fanfiction so I hope it isn't really cliché or something. o_O; Sorry if it is. I'm hoping that even if it seems to be cliché now, future chapters will be unique and interesting to read. Um. Yah. I have the whole story planned out up here *taps her head*


	2. Chapter 02

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Forgotten Fruits Chapter 02

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Furuba or any characters from it. I wish I did. T_T;

Shigure was planning to head straight over to Akito's room, but was stopped by Hatori in the hallway outside it. His cousin and best friend was trying desperately to make him go home, but Shigure didn't want to hear it. He had come to speak with Akito and that was what he was going to do.

"Ha-san. Please step out of the way." Shigure said calmly to Hatori, who was standing in front of Akito's door. "I am going to speak with Akito-san. Don't interfere."

Hatori didn't like the tone of voice Shigure was using towards him. It scared him because Shigure was usually much more cheerful and kind towards him. Now he sounded almost cold, as if he was angry at Hatori because of what Akito had ordered him to do. It wasn't his fault. He had to do it, even though he didn't want to. Was Shigure blaming him? He looked at his friend with pleading eyes.

"Shigure, don't." He said warningly. "You know Akito-san hates visitors this late. He'll be angry. You won't get anywhere by doing this."

"Ha-san," Shigure said in a voice full of annoyance and anger, something Hatori didn't hear often, "Step aside. I won't say it again."

Hatori didn't know what to do. He was battling with himself again, not sure whether to let Shigure do this or to restrain him. He knew that Shigure had been serious in what he had just said. He sounded _very_ serious. And Hatori wasn't sure if he wanted to get on the wrong side of him. He had seen Shigure angry only a few times in his life, but it was enough to know how he got when he was in this kind of mood. Even if he did try to stop him from going in, would he be successful anyway? 

There was a prolonged silence in which Hatori stared intensely at Shigure and the air in the hallway seemed to get so thick and heavy one could slice it with a knife. If looks could kill, Hatori would have been zapped by the electricity that seemed to be sparking from Shigure's dark eyes. Finally Hatori stepped out of the way reluctantly, and watched his friend walk to the door, feeling regretful already as Shigure slid it slowly open.

Shigure felt as though he had stepped into some new world completely different from the one he had been in when he was standing in the hallway with Hatori. He was surrounded by a dull darkness and the air was so cold he felt as if it would smother and suffocate him. He wondered why Akito would want to close all the curtains and have his room like this when he was so prone to being sick. Hadn't Hatori said anything to him? Shigure made a mental note to ask Hatori about it when this was over. Turning around he saw Hatori give him one last worried look before he shut the door quietly.

"Akito-san." Shigure said unabashedly to the dark figure sitting under one of the windows. Moonlight was filtering in under the curtain and illuminating Akito's features softly. He looked almost ghost-like, something that troubled Shigure.

"I don't like visitors here so late. Why have you come, Shigure?" Akito whispered menacingly, unmoving.

"I want to know the reason for erasing Tohru-kun's memory." replied the older man.

"I don't need to explain my reasons to you, Shigure," Akito answered calmly, his voice sounding too eerie for Shigure's comfort.

"Do you even _have_ a reason? Or has your spite just driven you mad?" 

At this accusation Akito's eyes flashed wildly and he grit his teeth, clearly irritated. "That girl had no place in our family from the start." He retorted maliciously. "She deserves no mercy, but that is what I am giving her. I am choosing to have her memory erased instead of having her see how dark the curse can really be." He slowly got to his feet and the moonlight disappeared from his face. Now he was merely a shadow, silhouetted against the glow coming from the curtained window. Shigure could only just make out the smirk plastered across his face. "I would have thought Shigure would be pleased with this decision. This way Honda Tohru-san doesn't get hurt."

"Doesn't get hurt?!" Shigure repeated in disbelief. "She's hurting _now_, Akito-san. And we're hurting too! Yuki-kun, Kyou-kun and I. Even Ha-san is hurting because of what you're forcing him to do. And how do you think Momiji and Kisa will feel once Tohru-kun is gone? Maybe it won't hurt Tohru-kun in the end, but it's hurting the Juunishi. It's effecting a lot of us. Are you _blind_ to that?!"

Akito said nothing for a few moments as anger flashed through his eyes again. "I am not the one who is blind, Shigure." His voice was louder now. "You're all blind! That girl had no business with us from the beginning, and now she's fooled you all! Do you really think she can help us? She has even fooled you, Shigure. I expected better of someone like you."

Listening to the entire conversation from outside, Hatori bit his lip.

"She has become too close to you, Shigure." Akito said in disgust. "She has pulled the wool right over your eyes. I thought you weren't so easily fooled."

There was silence as Shigure looked down at the floor, though he couldn't even see his own feet because of how dark it was. He exhaled and watched as his breath rose in clouds of white. Akito, pleased that he had defeated his cousin, smirked and moved to sit down again. But he stopped when he heard quiet words coming from Shigure's mouth.

"You're the fool." Shigure muttered.

Akito looked at him sharply. "What was that?" He asked, fury clearly rising in his voice.

"I said you're the fool." Shigure lifted his head and stared right into Akito's dark eyes. "It's not we who are blind, it's you. You are blinded by your own spite and hate towards the world that you can't let anybody else be happy." Shigure could almost see the raging flames burning in the younger man's eyes as he spoke. He knew his cousin was being pushed over the edge of the blade of anger he was always standing upon, but he did not want to stop. This was something he had to say. "You took Yuki-kun's friends from him when he was just a child. You took Kana away from Hatori when he wanted to marry the person he loved most..."

Hatori froze when he heard his name being mentioned.

"... And now you're going to take Tohru-kun away from all of us. She could possibly be the best thing that has happened to any of the Juunishi, but you're taking her from us. …Because you can't stand us being happy, can you? It makes you angry because of the cards you were dealt at birth. Because of your curse. You can't let anyone else have happiness and joy." Shigure spat the words as if they burned his tongue to be saying them. "You're too selfish to let anyone else be happy. You are _blind_." He said emphatically.

Hatori swallowed outside the door. Shigure continued to stare assertively at his younger cousin. Akito trembled with rage. He let out a furious growl and began to yell.

"Shut up! _Just shut up!!_" His shaking hand reached out towards a table near him and he grasped something that Shigure couldn't make out because of the hindering darkness. 

"A-akito-san!" Shigure said quickly, his voice faltering. "What are you doing?!"

Without warning Akito cast something towards Shigure, who threw his arms up in an automatic reaction, just in time to block the china vase flying at him. It shattered noisily into a thousand pieces as it crashed into him and the fragments tore into his arms relentlessly. Shigure cried out as bolts of pain shot through his arms. He stumbled backwards while trying to pull the sharp pieces of china out of his skin, and could feel warm liquid oozing over his hands. He didn't have enough time to register the fact that he was bleeding, though, because Akito suddenly leapt at him, wrapping his hands tightly around his older cousin's throat and squeezing as hard as he could. Choking, Shigure desperately tried to pull Akito's hands away but his grasp was too strong and too firm. 

"_Akito!_" The door to the room was thrust open suddenly and light from the hallway poured in and dissolved the darkness as Hatori's eyes fell upon the scene before him. Akito paid no attention to his cousin and continued to stare straight into Shigure's panicked eyes, strangling him and screaming in rage. 

"Tell _me_ I'm blind--!!"

"Akito-san, stop!!" Hatori threw himself at Shigure and Akito, knocking them all to the floor in the process. Fortunately Akito's hands slipped off Shigure's neck and Shigure crawled away, gasping frantically for air and rubbing his aching skin. Blood was still spilling from the cuts in his arms and he left a trail of crimson across the floor. 

"Akito-san, calm down! It's not good for your health!" Hatori was struggling to restrain Akito from getting up and attacking Shigure again. "Please! Calm down!" He had grabbed Akito's arms and was holding them tightly behind his back so he couldn't get away. 

"Get out of here!!" Akito screamed at Shigure, who was still gasping for precious air to fill his deprived lungs. "Hatori, get him out of here now!" With a sudden burst of energy he threw Hatori off him and pointed with a shaking hand at Shigure. "Get him _out!!_"

Saying nothing, Hatori got quickly to his feet and grabbed Shigure, careful not to hurt his arms, and lead him out of the freezing room as fast as he could. He didn't stop once they were out of that horrible place. He didn't stop until he had taken Shigure right over to his small house, sitting him down on the veranda outside in the pleasant summer night air. 

"I'll clean up your arms," he said calmly, and headed inside to get some of his medical equipment. Shigure sat in silence, staring at the bloodstained grass around his feet, still in shock at what had just happened. Perhaps he really was a fool, he thought. A fool for saying the things he said to Akito. But he had been so angry. He could feel stress that he hadn't felt in years building up inside his chest. He looked calmly down at his bloody arms as pain ached through them. He slowly brought his hand up and rubbed at his neck delicately. He swallowed, and winced at the pain that throbbed inside his throat. 

Akito had been so scary tonight, he thought with worry. But why was he surprised? He knew how Akito could get. He had almost blinded Hatori in his left eye. Why hadn't Shigure thought of that? He should have been more careful. Perhaps if he hadn't let his angered emotions get the better of him, he could have chosen better things to say and persuaded Akito to call off his orders for erasing Tohru's memory. He had now ruined any chance of that, he thought dejectedly. He had failed to save Tohru. He had also failed to get any real answer as to why Akito suddenly wanted her memory erased of them all. Was it really such a sudden thing, or had Akito been planning this from the start? Something gave Shigure the feeling that the latter was the case, though he didn't know what or why.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Hatori's footsteps on the veranda once again. He had returned from inside, carrying a small bottle of disinfectant, some cotton balls and a roll of bandage. He sat down next to Shigure and gently took his left arm, which was closest to him. "Let's take a look at these cuts." He said, and Shigure helped him to roll up his tattered suit sleeve as cautiously as they could.

"Ugh.. my arms are a mess.." Shigure choked out, the first time he had spoken since his meeting with Akito. His voice was horse and it was painful just to speak, even quietly. He looked at his own ripped up left arm and watched as Hatori drenched some cotton balls in disinfectant, then gently wiped them across the cuts. Shigure winced as a stinging pain shot through his skin, and bit his lip, trying to endure it. Wiping all of the blood away, Hatori noticed there were still a few pieces of china stuck in his friend's arm, so he carefully went about removing them, much to Shigure's horror. But once all the pieces had been removed, Hatori went on with the cleaning and then finally wrapped the arm tightly in soft bandages. He then proceeded to work on Shigure's right arm, and the harsh disinfectant stung the bloodied cuts once again. 

"Did you really think you would get far by confronting Akito-san?" Hatori asked quietly as he removed some more pieces of china from Shigure's skin. 

Shigure winced in pain and then replied in a croaky voice, "I don't know." He laughed harshly at his own stupidity. "I guess I really was a fool. He was right."

"I don't think he was right," Hatori stated, finishing cleaning away all the blood. He reached for the roll of bandage and began to wrap it around Shigure's arm nice and tightly. "But I don't think you were either. You could have got yourself killed, you dumb shit."

A heavy silence fell between them for a few moments, and then Shigure let out another laugh, this time much louder than the one before. "But I'm okay now, ne?" He asked, grinning despite the fact that speaking was almost unbearable.

"You are now, yes, but if I hadn't come to help you then you would probably be dead." Hatori replied seriously. "Akito-san didn't look like he was going to let go any time soon. You know how he can be. He does things without thinking. You shouldn't have confronted him like that."

Shigure sighed and leaned against one of the wooden beams that held up the roof over the veranda. "I had to, Ha-san. I couldn't just do nothing about this."

"I know, but you could have thought more reasonably about what you were going to do. Barging in and demand answers isn't the way to get anything from Akito-san. You know that."

"I guess I just let my anger get the better of me." Shigure muttered, voicing a previous thought and looking away from his friend. After a few more moments of silence, he croaked, "I'm going to head home." He stood up and Hatori did the same.

"I'll drive you there."

Shigure looked at him and waved his hand cheerfully. "No, it's okay, really…"

"I want to drive you home. You've just lost a fair amount of blood and had a bit of a shock. I'm not going to let you walk off on your own. What kind of a doctor would that make me? Something could happen." Hatori explained.

Shigure sighed, knowing that his friend would not take no for an answer in such a situation. "Okay, Ha-san."

Minutes later, Shigure was sitting comfortably in the front passenger seat of Hatori's car, gazing out through the window at the beautiful night sky above. There were no clouds to be seen tonight, meaning there were millions and millions of stars twinkling away without a care in the world. Shigure almost felt jealous of them, floating up there far away from all the troubles and frustrations of life. He sat there in silence for a while, watching the stars dreamily, but then remembered he had forgotten to say something very important to Hatori.

"Ha-san," He croaked. "Thanks for helping me out with Akito-san."

Hatori felt a smile tugging at his lips as he carefully watched the road ahead of him. "I guess we're even now."

Shigure grinned and went back to his stargazing. But then he remembered something again, and suddenly realised it had actually been gnawing away in the back of his mind ever since he had gone to visit Akito, ever so faintly. "Um. Ha-san?" He said raspily. 

"Yeah?" came the quiet reply.

"Have you noticed… something different about Akito-san?" 

There was a pregnant pause in which the air around them was uncomfortably still. Hatori shifted and asked, "What makes you think that?"

"Come on, Ha-san. Don't tell me you didn't notice it." Shigure said, his eyes wandering back up to the twinkling stars above him. They seemed to attract his eyes, like light attracts lonely moths. "His room is so cold, even in this hot summer weather. And he himself has a strange feeling about him, more malicious and unforgiving than usual. A feeling of… insanity, or something."

Hatori sighed. "I did notice it." He replied, running a hand through his dark hair. "I've told him to keep his windows open during the day to let some light in, but he won't. Still, though… his room wouldn't be able to get _that_ cold just from having curtains drawn, would it? Also he doesn't seem to be getting very ill from it. He's just been getting the usual fever he gets sometimes."

"Something weird is going on here, Ha-san."

"I know. But despite that, I can't disobey my orders."

"I wasn't saying that."

"But it's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"

To that, Shigure did not respond. The rest of the car ride was spent in a thick, heavy silence. It almost drove Shigure mad; he felt as though he was drowning in a bog of noiselessness, being pulled further and further down until he couldn't breathe at all anymore…

Just when he thought he would start screaming just to create some kind of sound to slice the silence, Hatori pulled up on Shigure's front lawn and slowed to a stop. Shigure couldn't have scrambled out of the car any quicker than he did. He gave Hatori a quick "thankyou", then stepped up onto the veranda, listening to the sound of Hatori's car slowly fading from his ears as it drove away.

"Tadaima," he called out, while noting how strangely quiet the house was. It startled him for a few moments as he wondered if the others had taken off somewhere, but then Tohru peered around the sliding door from the living room and smiled.

"Okaeri nasa-" She began, but her eyes widened as her gaze fell upon Shigure. His arms were wrapped in bloodied bandages and… were those bruises around his neck? "Shigure-san!!" She gasped. "You're bleeding!!"

Shigure looked down at his arms and saw the blood seeping through the bandages. "Ugh-- they're still bleeding? And Ha-san just left... damn it."

"What happened?!" Tohru asked, panic rising in her voice as she ran forward to inspect his injuries. "Your entire forearms are bandaged…" She took one of his arms and raised it with the gentlest, most sensitive touch she could manage. After all, she didn't want to hurt him. Still holding his torn up arm, she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and asked in a tiny voice, "What happened to you?"

Hearing Tohru's commotion, Yuki and Kyou had appeared in the hallway beside the living room door and were staring wide-eyed at their cousin.

"Shigure?" Yuki said. 

Kyou looked sympathetically at Shigure. "It was Akito, wasn't it?"

Shigure forced a smile and waved them off carefully so he wouldn't hurt his arm. "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just a few little scratches."

"Scratches that are still bleeding," Yuki pointed out, "And dark bruises around your neck. Your voice sounds horrible, by the way."

"Eh-heh.." Shigure chuckled.

"Shigure-san… did Akito-san really do this?" Tohru asked, looking up at him with sad eyes. Shigure felt something tugging at his heartstrings. Why did she have to look at him like _that_?

"Let's all go into the living room and I'll explain," he suggested. "I'm tired and need to sit down."

"Hai!" Tohru said enthusiastically. "I'll go and get some new bandages for you!!" And she ran off at the speed of light before Shigure had a chance to protest.

"There you go!" Tohru smiled as she finished wrapping the second bandage around Shigure's left arm. "All done. Hopefully it won't bleed anymore…" She said kindly. Shigure looked at her and could have sworn he could _feel_ the kindness radiating from her. He smiled and bowed his head.

"Arigatou. Tohru-kun is the goddess of kindness." At this remark Tohru looked down at the floor, her face turning as red as a sunburnt lobster, and mumbled things in embarrassment.

Kyou rolled his eyes and leaned against the table they were all sitting around, with his head in one hand. "Get on with it, you old man."

"Ah… well… I didn't get very far with Akito-san," Shigure explained, voice still crackly from the damage inflicted on his throat. "And as you can see, my sudden visit didn't go down very well. I guess I let my anger get the best of me, and said some things that weren't too wise…"

"What did you say?" Yuki asked. Shigure sweated and shook his head vigorously.

"That doesn't matter. I screwed up, and I regret it… because I wasn't able to save Tohru-kun's memory." He looked down at the table in front of him dejectedly, then his eyes drifted to Tohru. "I'm sorry."

Tohru looked as though she was about to cry. Crystal tears brimmed her green eyes and her cheeks were rosy. "This happened to Shigure-san because of me?" She asked, motioning to his arms and throat. "I am so sorry… I shouldn't have let you go to see him!! I was feeling very shocked and saddened at the time, so I didn't bother to stop you! It's all my fault…" and a tear trickled down her cheek.

"Honda-san," Yuki said, frowning. "It's not your fault. None of us knew this would happen."

Shigure nodded. "He's right, Tohru-kun. And I don't blame you. I was foolish to think I could change Akito-san's mind. Besides, I'm fine now aren't I?" He mustered up the most cheerful, happy smile he could to reassure the young woman. But her tears didn't stop. She had both hands clasped over her mouth in anxiety and chose to look at the floor. She wouldn't meet the gazes of any of the others. 

"I'm sorry…" she said as more tears streamed down her cheeks. 

"Hey…" Shigure said softly. "It's not your fault." He patted her shoulder gently to comfort her.

"Honda-san, it's okay," Yuki said sympathetically. "It's going to be okay. No one is blaming you. This isn't your fault."

"If it's anyone's fault," Kyou interrupted angrily, "It's Akito's. That bastard. What kind of a person goes around tearing a strip out of their family members? That really pisses me off. Shigure did nothing to him."

Shigure couldn't help but feel touched at the protectiveness Kyou was displaying towards him, something that didn't happen all too often.

Still, Tohru was crying. Her tears seemed to be never-ending as she sat trembling and sniffling on the floor. 

"Honda-san…" Yuki whispered. "Please don't cry."

But she wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. She had hurt the ones she cared about most.

She hated herself for that.

-----------------------------

A/N: Maa… 2nd chapter wa owatta~ XD I hope it had L33T EXCITEMENT SK1LLZ… or something.  
Is this getting FREAKY AND SERIOUS yet?! Also… can anyone guess what the pairing in this fic is gonna be yet? *cackles* 


	3. Chapter 03

****

Forgotten Fruits Chapter 03

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is copyright its respective owners and NOT me. ;_;  
Warning: This chapter contains a spoiler from the final episodes of the anime, so don't read if you haven't seen the entire series.

Shigure couldn't sleep that night. He tossed and turned and closed his eyes for the longest time but still didn't drift off. The gashes in his arms were stinging and his throat felt tight and was aching. After a while he gave up and ended up just lying on his back, staring up at his blank ceiling, or gazing out an uncurtained window at the night sky and the tops of the trees nearby. He could vaguely hear the sounds of Yuki, Kyou and Tohru watching TV and talking in the living room downstairs. Looking at his clock, he saw it was 11:30pm already, but he didn't get up and tell the others to go to bed. He knew that this was precious time that they would want to be spending together before Tohru's memory would be erased the next afternoon. He didn't want to ruin that for them, the ones he loved most. He actually found himself slightly wishing he could go down and join them, but he knew they wouldn't want that, and so he turned over onto his side and once again attempted to get to sleep.

But something was worrying this Sohma tonight. Never in his life had he ever been so worried... so afraid of Akito. This whole ordeal troubled him. He didn't know if Akito had suddenly lost it and just decided to have Tohru's memory erased because he felt like it or if he had been planning it all along. The way Akito was acting lately wasn't very comforting to the dog juunishi either. Shigure thought that he was perhaps the closest Sohma to Akito other than Hatori, but now he wasn't so sure. How could Akito attack him so easily like that? Granted, he _had_ said some things that would naturally upset the younger man... but he didn't know Akito would react in a life-threatening way. Shigure swallowed, wincing at the pain, as he thought about what happened earlier that evening. If Hatori hadn't burst into the room when he heard the commotion, Shigure could quite easily have been _killed_ by his cousin in those moments...

Shigure sighed in frustration and sat up in his bed, running a hand through his messy dark hair. Moonlight fell across his bed and gave the room an eerie blue glow. Slowly he placed his feet softly onto the carpeted floor and checked the clock. An hour had passed already! Where had the time gone? He decided that since he couldn't sleep anyway, he would get up and find some place to sit and think. He didn't want to do it here in his bed because it was too hot. He needed to find a cool place. Somewhere outside.

He threw on a thin, summery yukata and slowly slid his bedroom fusuma open. The hallway outside was dark and the house was quiet. He figured the others had finally gone to bed, although in the back of his mind he noted he hadn't actually heard them go to their rooms. He must have been so deep in thought that he became unconcious of things happening around him. He stepped out into the hallway and descended down the stairs into the hallway below.

Once outside, he stood on the veranda for a few minutes wondering where he could go and sit. His mind wandered and he found himself thinking about how he had stood down on the grass to talk to Kyou, who was sitting up on the roof, the evening before. 

The roof, Shigure decided. He would go up and sit on the roof. That way he could be close to the sparkling sky and let his mind clear itself of its troubles and worries. Maybe then he would be able to go to sleep.

He ascended up the ladder at the side of the house and crawled up onto the roof only to discover that Kyou was up there too, sitting in his usual spot. Kyou's head snapped towards Shigure when he heard him climb onto the roof. Shigure stared at him.

"Sorry, Kyou-kun," He apologised, half on the ladder and half on the roof. "I didn't realise you were up here. I'll go somewhere else." He began to descend down the ladder again.

"No, it's fine, Shigure," Kyou said quietly from across the roof. "You can sit up here too if you want. I was thinking about going to bed soon anyway."

Shigure smiled and hoisted himself completely onto the roof's tiles, then slowly and carefully walked across and sat down next to his red-haired cousin. "Have Yuki-kun and Tohru-kun gone to bed?"

Kyou shrugged. "I dunno."

"Weren't they with you?" Shigure asked, surprised.

"They were watching TV in the living room last time I saw them." Kyou replied, looking into the forest. "If they weren't in there when you got up, then I guess they went to bed."

"Oh." Shigure replied, looking at his cousin. After a few moments Kyou could feel Shigure's gaze upon him and looked at the older man in annoyance.

"What the hell are you looking at?" He asked angrily.

Shigure didn't bother answering the question. Instead he simply asked, "Don't you want to spend some time with Tohru-kun before tomorrow afternoon?"

"_This_ afternoon," Kyou corrected, looking at his watch. "It's almost 1am now, you know. Can't you tell the time?"

"Don't change the subject." Shigure spoke quietly. Kyou's eyebrow twitched with annoyance.

"What does it matter to you?" Kyou spat.

"I know how close you are with Tohru-kun," Shigure replied matter-of-factly. "And I think she would enjoy spending some time with you before she... has to forget all of us."

There was a long, pregnant silence that followed and it made the air around them thick and heavy with discomfort. Kyou looked away from Shigure; Shigure looked up at the sky. And that's how they stayed, for a long time, sitting together in silence, until another person joined them up on the roof.

Tohru had heard the footsteps across the roof as Shigure had walked over to his cousin and she had climbed the ladder to see who was up there. She peered across the roof to see Shigure and Kyou sitting together but saying nothing. The world was deathly silent as she watched them. Finally she pulled herself up onto the roof and they both looked over when they heard the noise.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly when she reached them. She took a seat between them, looking at each of them and wondering what had happened. Shigure looked down at her and saw that her eyes and cheeks were red and tear-stained.

"Tohru-kun," Shigure said, blinking, "You've been crying..."

Tohru quickly looked down as Kyou jerked his head around to look at her. "I-I'm okay," she sniffed. "I was just.. talking with Yuki-kun... I'm okay..." She fell silent. 

Kyou was sitting in silence, his eyes cast downwards so he was looking at the dark grass below. His knees were pulled up to his chest as he rested his arms across them. Shigure decided this might be a good time to go somewhere else so that Kyou and Tohru could have some time alone. He knew that was what Kyou really wanted, deep down.

"Well!" Shigure announced after a few moments, "I think I'll take a walk in the forest..."

Tohru looked up at him. "Shigure-san isn't going to sleep?"

He shook his head in reply. "I can't sleep. I need to clear my head a bit." He offered a gentle smile. "Don't you worry. I'll sleep afterwards."

Once on the ground again, Shigure's sharp ears caught the voices of Tohru and Kyou up on the roof as he was walking towards the trees. He paused for a moment to listen.

"Is Kyou-kun alright?" Tohru was asking in her sweet voice.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Anyway, it's you who should be having that question asked to them." Kyou was replying.

"I will definitely miss Kyou-kun..." Tohru spoke. "I just regret not having learnt more about him in the time I had..."

Shigure decided to finish there and continue into the darkness of the forest. Eavesdropping was a bad thing, and he only did it in the most unimportant of times, when he was joking around. This, however, was a time when it was important, so he let Tohru and Kyou be. He couldn't help but wonder what they might be talking about, though... or what Tohru and Yuki had talked about, either. Shigure knew how both boys felt about Tohru... he could see it written all over their faces whenever Tohru was in the same room as they were... but Tohru had no idea. He wondered if either of the boys would confess their feelings tonight. 

These thoughts soon wandered to other things, such as Akito and Tohru's memory being erased, and the familiar cloud of worry hung over Shigure's head as he walked deeper and deeper into the forest. He didn't stop until he found the same spot where he, Tohru and Hatori had sat the previous evening: the small clearing with the tree stumps. However, he chose not to sit on a stump this time, and instead lay down on the cool green grass so he could relax and stare up at the stars overhead. He closed his eyes and his head began to clear.

-------------

"Is Kyou-kun alright?" Tohru asked her friend.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Anyway, it's you who should be having that question asked to them." The orange-haired cat juunishi sitting next to her replied.

Tohru sighed and looked at the trees before her, catching a glimpse of Shigure as he disappeared into the light-deprived forest. "I will definitely miss Kyou-kun... I just regret not having learnt more about him in the time I had..."

"It's okay. I'm not that interesting." Kyou muttered. "The only interesting thing about me is what I become when I have these taken off." He held up his left wrist, referring to his beaded bracelet. "And that's not something anyone would want to find out about."

"I think it's interesting, and it's not a bad thing because deep down you're still the same Kyou-kun that everyone knows and loves."

Kyou didn't reply. Love? Who loved him? The last person who had spoken those words to him had been his mother, and she had been a stupid idiot. He hated her, perhaps even more than the kuso nezumi. 

"I don't regret meeting you." Tohru whispered, pulling Kyou from his thoughts as he turned his head to look at her.

"Thanks..." he replied stiffly. "I don't... I don't regret meeting you either."

Tohru smiled. "Maybe we could just be friends at school after this. I'm sure Akito-san wouldn't get mad about that." She suggested wishfully. "We could just talk at school from time to time, and nowhere else..."

"Mm. Maybe. I'm not sure though.. Akito said he doesn't want us to associate at all.." Kyou suddenly punched his fist into the roof angrily, causing a loud smash. Tohru jumped in fright and down below a disturbed Yuki yelled profanities out the window at Kyou. 

"I'm sorry..." Tohru apologised.

"Why are _you_ apologising?!" Kyou asked quickly. "It's not your fault. Don't worry about it. I'm going to kick Akito's ass after all of this."

"A-ahh! Don't do that! You saw what he did to Shigure-san..." Tohru's voice quietened. "...Because of me..."

"That wasn't your fault," Kyou stated matter-of-factly. "That was Akito's fault, the bastard. He deserves to die if he's going to do things like this."

Tohru looked at Kyou with wide, shocked eyes. "You don't mean that Kyou-kun... he's your family... don't say things like that... it would probably hurt him to hear those things..."

"You're sticking up for him?" Kyou asked in surprise. Tohru never ceased to amaze him. How could somebody be so kind to someone who was taking her memory and happiness from her? "Why? Why do you care about him?"

"Because he's a person too... and I think he's misunderstood... he's going through a lot and he's the way he is because of the curse..." Tohru replied.

"You are an amazing person." Kyou mumbled. Tohru simply blushed and looked down in embarassment.

"I-I'm not that great," she stammered.

"Yes you are. You're the best person... I've ever met." Kyou continued, not looking at her. Tohru listened quietly, knowing it was hard for him to say things like this. "You're caring and open-minded and understanding... so understanding. I'm sorry that we can't go on living the way we are..."

"I'm sorry too." Tohru whispered sadly.

-------------

Shigure's eyes fluttered open and he saw that the world around him was still dark. Was that a person's voice he had just heard? Where was he, anyway? He was on his side, so he rolled onto his back and looked up to see a large head infront of the starry sky. With a frightened jolt he pushed himslef away, only to hear Tohru's voice squeaking, "Ahh! Gomen, gomen Shigure-san!!"

Panting, Shigure looked around to see it really was just Tohru. "T-tohru-kun," he stammered. "You gave me a fright. I didn't recognise you... it's dark..."

"I'm sorry! I finished talking with Kyou-kun so I came to look for Shigure-san and when I found you here I thought something bad had happened... so I knelt down beside you and called your name to see if you were just sleeping... and you woke up... so I guess you were." She gave a nervous smile.

Shigure heaved a relieved sigh and smiled, placing a hand over his chest. It was then that he realised one of his bandages had become loose in the commotion. 

"Ah! Shigure-san, your bandage! I'm so sorry!!" She quickly scrambled forward to help him with it, and he had no chance to protest before she had gently taken his arm and was rebandaging it with the most love and care she could give. He watched as she gently wrapped it around his wounds again, and smiled.

"Tohru-kun really is great," He breathed. 

Tohru looked up at him in surprise and then turned away, finding herself blushing once again. "Iie... why is everyone saying that?" She laughed nervously, not looking at the dark-haired man beside her.

"Because it's the truth, of course." Shigure replied kindly, in a voice filled with warmth. "Tohru-kun is the best thing that's happened to our family in a long time. And for that, this old man is very grateful."

"Shigure-san, you're not old," Tohru grinned unsurely, still blushing. "Why do you keep calling yourself that?"

Shigure laughed. "I'm really not sure."

"Ano... Shigure-san?"

"Yes?"

"Will you, Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun be with me tomorrow? When Hatori-san erases my memory?" she asked shyly.

Suddenly Shigure felt as though somebody had shoved a very sharp sword right through his heart. He had a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach and he suddenly felt very guilty for not being able to change Akito's mind the previous day.

"Y-yeah," he replied. "We'll be with you. Ha-san is coming here, after all, we're not going to him. We'll be with you until the end." He explained sadly.

"Well... since this is one of the last times we'll get to be together... I- I had some things to say to Shigure-san," Tohru said uncertainly, looking at him with her big brown eyes. 

He smiled, despite his sadness at hearing these words, and nodded at her. "Tohru-kun can tell me anything she wants."

She smiled gratefully and shifted so she was sitting cross-legged in the grass before her older friend, sighing. "I just wanted Shigure-san to know... how much I appreciate him... before I don't have the chance to say it anymore." Shigure's heart was stabbed painfully again. "I've enjoyed living with you as much as I've enjoyed living with Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun... you're all very good people, and my time in your house has been one of the best times in my life... and I'm very sad that I can't stay with you any longer. But please," Tohru looked up at the dark-haired juunishi intensely, with tears brimming her eyes, "Please don't forget me, Shigure-san, even though I'm forgetting you."

Hearing this upset Shigure, but he tried as hard as he could to not make that noticable. The last thing he needed was to get upset because that would just upset Tohru even more than she was already. "T-tohru-kun," Shigure stammered, feeling as though the bottom of his stomach had fallen through. "I could never do that. _Never_." He stared at her soberly, trying to think of what to say. He swallowed, and his throat ached.

"Okay," Tohru sighed. "Because even though I won't be around to know, I would hate to think that Shigure-san would forget that I was ever in his life."

"Tohru-kun!" He exclaimed. "I won't ever do that!" Finally the full weight of what was happening was falling down on him, crushing him. By this evening, Tohru would no longer know him. He would be a complete stranger to her. Shigure looked down at his hands and saw they were shaking. He cursed himself inside his head; he was getting way too upset for his own good. He took a deep breath as his head spun.

"Shigure-san?!" Tohru said panickingly. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm... I'm fine," Shigure lied. He felt sick. Utterly sick.

"You've gone pale," Tohru noted as she studied his face, "And you're trembling! Shigure-san what's wrong?" She bit her lip in worry and wondered. How could what she had said upset him so much? 

"Tohru-kun," Shigure said shakily, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. "

"I-it's not your fault," Tohru replied. Looking at how Shigure was reacting, she wondered if she had impacted his life more than she thought she had. "Uhh.. ahh.. lie down, and you'll feel better."

"No," He stopped her when she moved closer to help him. "I'm not going to forget you, you know. I will never do that so please don't worry about it." He was breathing faster than usual, as if he had just run here from the house. "I-I could never forget someone like you, because you mean a lot to me. You have to know that. You're closer with Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun, but that doesn't mean you don't mean as much to me as you do to them."

Tohru was crying again. "Thankyou, Shigure-san."

"I don't want to lose you..." he muttered weakly. 

"Eh?" Tohru gasped and quickly looked at him, but all of a sudden there was a loud _pyon_ and a puff of blue smoke. When it cleared she saw Shigure had transformed into his dog-form and fallen asleep. She gazed down at him for a long time, thinking about what he had said just before he transformed. _I don't want to lose you..._

Indeed, she wondered just how much of an impact she had had on Shigure's life that she didn't know about.

-------------

The next day went very fast. Everyone was extremely tired because of how late they had stayed up, but they still got up early so they could spend as much time with Tohru as they could before Hatori arrived. For lunch, Yuki, Kyou and Shigure all joined forces and put up with eachother as much as they could to cook Tohru something special for lunch. Although it didn't turn out as well as it would have if Tohru had cooked it, she still enjoyed it and considered it the best lunch she had ever eaten just because it was made by her three favourite people.

After lunch, Yuki and Kyou privately talked to Shigure while Tohru was outside. They approached him as soon as they had cleaned up and washed the dishes. They all decided Shigure's room would be a good place to talk, as Tohru was likely to knock before entering so they would have warning if she was to come along.

"Shigure," Yuki said seriously as they all sat around his table, "We're not staying."

Shigure froze for a few moments, startled and wondering what he meant. It was a very sudden thing for him to say. "Not... staying?" Shigure said slowly. He looked to Kyou, who wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Yeah," replied Kyou, looking away at a book on the other side of the room. "After her memory is erased..." His voice trailed off and there was silence for a few moments.

"We're leaving." Yuki stated. "This is... it's hard... so I'll stay with Tohru when her memory is being erased, but after that... when she's unconcious, I'm going to leave. I've already organised it with Hatori, he's going to take me to the train station. He's also taking him." He motioned to Kyou.

"What?..." Shigure asked in disbelief. "You're _leaving_? You're running away?"

"I need some time to think, and to get away from this place. It's too painful right now." Yuki looked down sadly. "I'm sorry, Shigure. I'm going to stay with my parents for a while."

"I'm going back to Kazuma." Kyou said quietly, still not meeting Shigure's gaze. "...Sorry."

"How can you do this?" Shigure asked, feeling anger rising inside himself. "I thought you two were better than this."

"Just handle it, okay?" Kyou said rudely, finally looking into Shigure's eyes. "You're a grown man. You can look after yourself." He muttered.

Shigure glared at Kyou in angered shock. "That's _not_ the reason I'm angry at you two for this. You're running away like children. You're being childish!"

"Someone like _you_ shouldn't be accusing others of being childish." Kyou spat.

"I know this is painful, but it's at times like these that families should come together to help eachother out," Shigure stated calmly. "Losing Tohru-kun is bad enough, but now we're losing eachother."

"Who said we're _losing_ eachother?" Kyou asked in a malicious tone.

"Are you planning on coming back here?"

There was silence. Kyou didn't answer. He mumbled something and looked away from his older cousin.

"I might come back, Shigure," Yuki replied solemnly. "But I don't know yet."

Shigure let out a great sigh and hung his head. "You're leaving me. You're both leaving me when I need you the most."

At this, the boys had nothing to say. It surprised them to be hearing this from their cousin, but they had made up their minds already. This was something they had to do.

"We have to get away from here, Shigure." Yuki said, and looked out the window. "This is so hard... I can't stand to be here anymore, in this house, knowing that she's not going to be with us."

"That's not my fault, yet I'm being punished." Shigure replied sadly. He then paused and thought carefully about what he had just said. "But, I guess, it would be a punishment for you two if you both stayed under these circumstances." He sighed. "I... I'm trying to understand your decision. I think I do. I understand it, though I don't want it to be true. Though I may not show it most of the time, you both mean a lot to me. You're my family, and you're always welcome here if you want to come back. Remember that."

Shigure looked up to see Kyou and Yuki nod in unison. Yuki was about to speak but was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up outside the house. He quickly looked at Shigure with wide eyes.

"Ha-san has arrived..." the dark-haired juunishi stated.

-------------

Shigure, Kyou and Yuki almost couldn't believe what they were seeing. Kyou and Yuki were sitting beside Tohru and Hatori on the grass outside the house; the location had been chosen by Tohru. She liked it outside in the warm summer sun. Shigure was sitting up on the veranda, watching in mournful disbelief. The sick feeling had returned to his stomach.

Hatori looked into Tohru's eyes soberly and asked, "Have you said everything you wanted to say to Yuki, Kyou and Shigure?"

Tohru paused, feeling extremely scared. Her heart was beating madly inside her chest as if it was trying to break free from her body. She was trembling. "H-hai," she stuttered. She looked at each of them and said goodbye. 

As Tohru's sad eyes met Shigure's and she gave a gentle smile, he felt like he would faint. Despite her sadness, she was smiling, he thought. She was always smiling, trying to make others feel better in spite of what was happening. This was wrong, Shigure thought. So very wrong. He felt dizzy.

"I'm sorry for this, Tohru-kun," Hatori said sympathetically. "I didn't want this."

"Iie, i-it's okay, Hatori-san. I-it wasn't your d-decision." Tohru's chest was filled with so much fear that she was stumbling over her words. Closing her eyes and taking a few deep, shaky breaths, she nodded to Hatori and whispered, "I-I'm ready." But her voice sounded so small and vulnerable. She held onto Kyou's and Yuki's hands tightly, afraid to let go.

"Goodbye... I'll miss you." Kyou whispered.

"I really enjoyed knowing you, Honda-san." Yuki said sadly. "I'm sorry for all of this."

Tears were flowing down Tohru's cheeks as Hatori placed his hand gentle on her forehead. "Don't forget me." She sobbed.

Devestated, Shigure hung his head, bringing his hands up to cover his face. He couldn't watch. He couldn't.

"Thankyou for everything, Tohru-kun," Hatori said softly. He closed his eyes, focusing his power, and before Tohru had the chance to speak in reply, there was a blinding flash of white light that only lasted a single moment. When it all faded away, Tohru slumped down onto her back, lying face up on the grass, deep asleep. Kyou got to his feet and took off to his room to get the bags he had packed, and Yuki only lingered a few moments longer by Tohru's side before doing the same.

Shigure didn't look up when he heard either of the boys running past him on the veranda. He didn't look up when he felt Hatori's presence beside him either. His friend was standing next to him, leaning against one of the veranda's posts.

"Are you okay, Shigure?" Hatori asked with concern.

"I just need a bit of time." Shigure replied croakily. "How long will she be asleep?"

"Only about three or so hours. When she wakes up, what will you tell her?"

Shigure swallowed and lowered his hands, staring at Tohru's sleeping form on the lawn. "I... I'm going to say that I found her, unconcious, in the forest. Then I'll let her contact whoever else she can go and live with, and let her go."

"Sounds good. Are you sure you'll be alright? Have the boys told you what they're doing?" Hatori asked.

Shigure nodded. "I'll be fine, and yes. They said you're taking them to the train station."

Hatori nodded, and Shigure got to his feet. "Well, I'll move Tohru-kun. Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun should be out soon." He walked away towards Tohru and in his strong arms picked her up gently. He said goodbye to Hatori as he disappeared inside the house.

-------------

Shigure had put Tohru on a futon in the living room, and grabbed a few of her things, including her mother's framed photograph, so that it would look like he had found her and grabbed a few of her things out of her old tent. He would tell her that there had been a landslide and he was only able to save a few things. He sincerely hoped that she had another place to go and stay after she woke up.

Yuki, Kyou and Hatori had all left. Hatori told Shigure that he would call him later on to see how he and Tohru were doing. In all honestly, Shigure hoped he wouldn't. He really didn't want to be talking to anybody right now. Especially not the man who had taken Tohru's memory, best friend or not.

Feeling extremely anxious, Shigure grabbed a book, settled down on a beanbag near Tohru in the living room and began to read, hoping it would take his mind off the recent events. 

-------------

Shigure woke to the sound of a young voice speaking, and somebody shaking him gently. "E-excuse me," the small voice was saying politely. "Please, sir, wake up..." the voice was distraught now. 

Shigure's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring into the scared eyes of Tohru. 

"Ah, y-you're awake," Shigure said, giving the best smile he could muster despite his mood. "I guess you're wondering how you got here?"

Tohru nodded.

"I found you unconcious in the forest," Shigure lied. "There's been a landslide... you had a tent setup, yes?"

Tohru stared at him blankly. "A tent?" She blinked.

Shigure froze. "...Yes..." he said slowly. Tohru continued to stare at him expressionlessly.

"I don't remember." She replied truthfully.

"What?" Shigure exclaimed. After a few moments he gave a nervous laugh. "I don't know what happened to you but I guess you were knocked out good."

"Do you know who I am?" She asked. Shigure shook his head.

"You haven't told me your name yet."

Tohru thought hard, bringing a hand up to her chin. "A-ano..." she stammered. "I don't know my name..." She frowned. "I can't remember it."

"Whaaaat?!" Shigure almost screamed. He then grabbed the framed photograph of Tohru's mother and thrust it towards her. "Look! This! Do you remember this?"

"What a beautiful woman," Tohru sighed. "I don't know who she is though."

Shigure couldn't pretend he didn't know her any longer. He was scared at the way Tohru was acting. Had Hatori accidentally erased her entire memory?

"This is your mother, Tohru-kun." He said solemnly.

Tohru stared at him with wide, confused brown eyes, and suddenly tears began to form in them. "Who is Tohru-kun?" She cried. "Where am I? Who am I? Wh-what's wrong with me?"

Shigure stared blankly at the far wall. His whole body felt numb.

"Oh god, Ha-san. What have you done?"

-------------

A/N: OoooOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOooo. It's a TWIST OMG. Oh, and to clarify something: Tohru's family thinks she is living with a friend from school.


	4. Chapter 04

****

Forgotten Fruits Chapter 04

A few notes. :D

Before I begin the chapter, I'll answer a couple of questions that were asked:

__

Why would Yuki want to live with his parents? He's more likely to live with Ayame than his parents.

Does Yuki have a worse relationship with his parents than he does with Ayame?… If he does then I didn't know… so far there's just ONE episode of the series I haven't seen, so maybe it explains it in that ep, or maybe I was just dumb and missed something. Either way, I don't really care much. :B

__

And why didn't you include Yuki's last conversation with Tohru?

I don't like him. Therefore, I didn't want to write much about him. XD Plus the chapter was already too long for my liking when I finished it and I didn't want to add any more in. I don't like chapters that are _too_ long. However, is there anyone who would really like me to go back and add Tohru's last conversation with him? I'll do it if people really want me to (and if they ask nicely #^___^#). 

Oh. And yes, those who guessed this was a Gureru were right. ~_^ Now, on with the story…

----------------------

The car trip to the train station had been incredibly long and uncomfortable for Hatori. Neither Kyou nor Yuki spoke at all on the way there. Hatori felt as though he was in a vehicle with nothing but two corpses for passengers. The atmosphere was so tense it could have easily been sliced with a knife.

After dropping off the boys, who didn't even thank him for the ride, Hatori headed straight back to the Sohma main house. When he arrived it had already been around an hour since he had erased Tohru's memory. He still felt sick from it. Having to do that to Tohru was bringing back horrible memories of the day he erased Kana's memory. How often would he be forced to erase the memories of people he loved? How often would he be forced into taking something precious from people he cared about? 

He wanted to go to his house and lie down for a long time, doing nothing but thinking. However, he had to visit Akito first, so he headed off towards the building in which Akito lived.

The room was as cold as, if not colder than it had been the last time Hatori visited his young cousin. It hit him like a block of concrete falling onto his chest as he slid open the fusuma and stepped inside. Akito was sitting in his usual manner; below one of the round, curtained windows, a mere shadow in the dark room. Hatori bowed respectively to him before kneeling on the floor.

"It's been done, Akito-san." He said, not feeling the least bit proud of his actions. "Her memory has been erased. It's over." There was silence, and even though Hatori could not see his cousins face, he knew he was grinning.

"Good work, Hatori…" Akito whispered in that voice thick with calm malice. "I knew I could count on you…"

"Hai, Akito-san."

"And Shigure understands what he must do when she awakens? That he must send her away?" 

Hatori nodded. "Hai, Akito-san."

"Very good." Akito chuckled softly. "You may leave, Hatori."

Hatori got up and left without another word. His heart felt heavy, like somebody had filled it up with icy water, and it was weighing down his chest. It made him feel awful and like he might topple over at any minute. He walked quickly back to his house and once he was inside he went straight to the couch. He needed to lie down. He wasn't sure if his body could handle the weight of his heart any longer. The pain in his legs was relieved as he gently set himself down upon the soft, comfortable couch, and he closed his eyes, wishing that somehow when he woke up it would all turn out to be a dream.

----------------------

Hatori was woken by the sound of his phone ringing some hours later. He groggily hoisted himself from the couch and stumbled towards the phone that hung on the wall. Its ringing was shattering his eardrums, so he grabbed it as quickly as possible to shut it up. 

"Moshimoshi," he mumbled drowsily into the mouthpiece. "Sohma Hatori speaking."

"Ha-san," came the dull voice from the other end of the line.

"Shigure?!" Hatori recognised the voice instantly and his tiredness seemed to dissolve. "Is everything okay?"

"I think you'd better come over, Ha-san." Shigure replied tonelessly. Hatori was suddenly confused at the way Shigure was speaking. It was so expressionless; so unlike his usual self. And what was he talking about? Had something gone wrong?

"What's the matter?" Hatori asked quietly. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 5pm already. He had slept for two hours without realising it. He knew Tohru would have woken up by now, so he asked, "Did you send Tohru-kun away yet?"

"Ha-san. Something's not right. Please come over," Shigure said calmly. Hatori wasn't sure, but he thought he had heard anger in his friend's voice, only for a fleeting moment. But he really wasn't sure. He couldn't read the expression in Shigure's voice, because there was none. He was almost speaking in monotone.

"Okay. I'll be there soon." He replied, and he heard a sudden _click_ in his ear. Shigure had hung up.

----------------------

Hatori pulled up outside Shigure's house and slowly got out of his car, grabbing his handy medical suitcase just in case there was something wrong with Tohru that he needed to check on. He approached the door, slowly sliding it open and peering inside.

"Shigure?" He called out.

"We're in here," came Shigure's voice from the living room. Hatori walked down the hallway towards it and turned inside. His eyes had only just fallen upon a wide-eyed Tohru, who was sitting on a futon on the opposite side of the room, when suddenly Shigure seemed to appear from nowhere, grabbing him fiercely by the collar and throwing him up against the hard wall. The suitcase fell from Hatori's fingers with a clatter and he gasped in surprise. He stared into Shigure's dark eyes and could feel his friend trembling in anger.

"What did you do to her?!" Shigure hissed in such a malicious tone that it reminded Hatori of Akito, which struck fear into his heart. "Did Akito tell you to do this?!"

"What are you talking about?" Hatori asked, trying to stay calm. Shigure growled and slammed him against the wall again.

"You know what I'm talking about!! You did something wrong!_ Her_ _entire memory is gone!!_" Shigure stared intensely at Hatori. His eyes looked almost insane. All Hatori could do was stare back, as he had suddenly forgotten how to speak. He was moving his mouth as if to say something, but no words came. Had he just heard Shigure correctly?

Hatori's eyes wandered from Shigure to Tohru, who was still sitting on the opposite side of the room. She had pushed herself up against the far wall and was staring at them both with wide, fear-filled eyes.

"A-ano…" she stammered. "P-please don't fight! Please!" 

Shigure sighed, closing his eyes. He could feel the anger pulsating through him, coursing through his veins. He could hardly believe what was going on... his best friend had erased Tohru's entire memory. Her entire memory. Would she ever be able to get those precious memories back? She was practically a different person now.

"Please stop," Tohru said quietly, sounding as though she was on the verge of tears. Shigure opened his eyes again and stared up into Hatori's. Then after a few moments he released his grip and moved away from his cousin. Frustrated, he sat down on the floor next to Tohru's fusuma and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I'm sorry Tohru-kun," he apologised to her. "You must be very confused right now." All she did was nod nervously in reply. Shigure turned to Hatori, who was looking puzzled. "Ha-san… she doesn't remember who she is." Shigure still sounded angry, but much calmer now. This made Hatori feel a lot better.

"I don't understand… how?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. "I erased her memory the way I erase everyone's memories… I did it exactly the same way as I did with Kana…"

Tohru was extremely confused. A thousand questions were swirling around inside her head, wanting to be asked all at once. Who was Kana? What was all this talk of erasing memories? She felt as though she was a character in a science fiction movie. For the meantime she refrained from voicing her confusion, however, deciding it would be best just to be quiet and listen for now.

"Are you sure? There wasn't anything else you did that was different?" Shigure asked suspiciously.

"I swear I did it the way I always do. I swear, Shigure. I didn't do this intentionally."

Shigure closed his eyes. "How could this have happened?" he murmured.

"I'm don't know." Hatori replied thoughtfully. "Although I suppose it is possible for some people to have a different reaction than others when parts of their minds are erased like that…"

"Different reactions?"

"Hai. Like in Tohru-kun's case, her mind must have reacted badly to what was happening and in turn caused _all_ of her memories to be wiped, not just the ones I chose."

Shigure tried hard to keep up with what Hatori was saying. Since he himself didn't have any special powers other than what came with being the dog juunishi, he couldn't understand Hatori's mind-erasing ability.

"But why would that happen?" Shigure asked. "It doesn't make sense. Was there something she did at the exact moment you used your power on her, or what?"

Hatori shook his head. "I really don't know. This is the first time something like this has happened. I don't know what could cause her to lose her entire memory."

Shigure ran a hand through his hair, feeling anxious. This was not good. Not good at all. This was quite possibly the worse thing that had happened to him or anyone close to him in his life. 

"Will she regain her lost memories?" Shigure asked quietly. Hatori once again shook his head.

"I don't know."

With a heavy sigh, Shigure continued, "Well, Ha-san… you can go back home. I need some time to talk about this with Tohru-kun. I'll call you later… okay?"

Hatori stared at his friend solemnly for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he released Shigure from his gaze and turned slowly towards the hallway. "Alright. Call me when you need me, Shigure." He said quietly.

"Arigatou, Ha-san." Shigure said, giving a small smile.

Though it was hesitantly, Hatori left his best friend alone to sort things out. And even though Shigure had smiled to him a few minutes ago, Hatori felt more alone than he had ever been in his entire life as he walked out towards his car. His cousins hated him now, he was sure of it.

----------------------

Shigure calmly sat down at the living room table, opposite Tohru, and gave a friendly smile. She looked back at him nervously, fiddling with the end of her skirt and biting her lip. 

"Well… I guess I should explain some things to you." Shigure sighed. "First things first… your name is Honda Tohru."

"Honda… Tohru…" Tohru whispered, repeating her name to herself. She felt strange. She felt like she had just learned someone else's name for the first time, only the name was actually her own.

Shigure nodded and smiled kindly. "That's right. I call you Tohru-kun. As for me, I'm Sohma Shigure. You often called me Shigure-san… before you lost your memory." Sadness flashed in his dark eyes for a moment, but it was already gone before Tohru could be sure she had seen it.

"Ahh.. Pleased to meet you, Shigure-san," Tohru stammered politely, bowing her head towards the older man. Shigure smiled and raised a hand.

"You don't have to do that. I've already met you."

"Ah… s-sumimasen," she replied nervously. Shigure couldn't help but chuckle at this response. Despite losing her memories, it seemed she was still the same Tohru after all. Relief washed over him.

"It's okay. Anyway, before you lost your memory, you were living here in this house, with me, and two of my cousins.. Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun." He explained, watching her closely for any reactions she might have to Kyou and Yuki's names. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no reaction. Tohru looked as though she was learning these things for the first time.

"Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun? I was living here, with you and them? But…" Tohru looked around. "Where are they now?"

Shigure smiled sadly. "They… had to leave, to take care of some things. They will be back though." He said, hoping the last statement would eventually be true.

"Oh. Okay." Tohru replied, blinking her large brown eyes. "A-ano… why was I living here with you? We don't have the same surname so I don't think we're related…"

"A-ahh.." Shigure stammered. "Well, the thing is…" his eyes flicked to the framed photograph of Tohru's mother, which was still on the floor where he had left it not long ago. He carefully picked it up and placed it on the table, facing Tohru. "This woman… she was your mother. Unfortunately, she… w-well.." He stared into Tohru's eyes. Those pretty, innocent eyes. Why did he have to be the bearer of bad news? "She was killed in an accident last year… shortly before you came to live here…"

A look of shocked disbelief swept over Tohru's face and Shigure felt as though he deserved to be having his head smashed with a sledgehammer for it. She stared at him for a few moments, saying nothing. He stared back at her, worried and also saying nothing. He didn't know _what_ he could say. Finally Tohru managed to whisper, "My mother… is dead?" Her voice was small and so vulnerable-sounding. Shigure stared into her eyes sorrowfully and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Tohru-kun…" he apologised.

Despite the news she had just been told, Tohru smiled, though Shigure could still see the obvious sadness she was failing to hide. "P-please, don't be sorry, Shigure-san… it's not like it was your fault…"

"It wasn't, but I'm still sorry it happened.. and I'm sorry for you."

Tohru looked at him sadly, wondering. This man seemed like a very caring person. She assumed that he must have been a very close friend of hers before she lost her memory. After all, he had said they lived in the this house together. He must have been her guardian.

"Ano… Shigure-san?" Tohru said, looking down at the floor.

"Mm?"

"Why did I come to live here? Where is my father?"

Shigure bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't actually know… you never mentioned your father to me, but I got the impression he had passed away before you could remember him…"

"Oh." Tohru replied sadly. "I see."

"After your mother passed away, you lived with your grandad. But later he decided to go and live with some of your father's family, and because you didn't want to be a burden on anyone you decided to live in a tent instead of staying with your friends." A smile came to Shigure's face as he thought back to the first time he met Tohru. "Your tent was near this house, in the forest.. Yuki-kun and I saw you going into it one night while we were taking a walk, so we brought you back to this house and offered to let you have a room if you cooked and cleaned for us."

Tohru looked up at him and he saw tears in her eyes.

"T-tohru-kun?" He said worriedly.

"That's embarassing," Tohru said shakily, wiping her eyes. "I hope… that I wasn't in your way, living here…"

"Iie, Tohru-kun!" Shigure exclaimed. "Tohru-kun was never a bother. Everyone was happy living here with you."

Tohru sniffed as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I-I'm sorry, Shigure-san -- I'm so confused right now -- all that you're telling me, it's so much…" She lowered her head.

"Hey." Shigure said gently, frowning. "It's okay. Don't apologise. Do you want to go and lie down? Your bedroom is upstairs. Or if you're hungry, we could have some dinner…" Shigure looked up at a clock on the wall. "It's almost six-thirty, so it's not too early."

"A-ano…" Tohru looked up at him again with eyes shining with tears. "I am getting hungry…"

Shigure smiled warmly. "Okay. I can't cook, so I'll order us some pizza. How's that?"

Tohru nodded. "Okay." Shigure got up slowly and went to the kitchen to use the phone there.

Tohru wiped hot tears from her eyes and stared at the framed photograph of the woman who was her mother. "What was her name?" She whispered to herself. Shigure hadn't told her. Slowly she reached out and took the photo in her hands, bringing it closer so she could study her mother's face. It _was_ familiar. She could only slightly remember it, which made her feel frustrated. Why couldn't she remember more of her mother? The woman who had brought her up since she was a baby. Yes, the face in the photo looked familiar, but Tohru couldn't remember any events with her mother in them. There were no actual memories of time she had spent with her mother. Frowning, she pulled the photo close and hugged it to her chest, bowing her head. "I'm sorry, okaasan…" she whispered. 

Still holding onto the photo, she stood from the living room table and walked over to a fusuma and slid it open. She stared out into a grassy yard. Slowly she walked out onto the varanda and down onto the soft green grass. She stared up at the pinky-orange evening sky and sighed. She felt very alone and afraid. Shigure had seemed like a very nice person, and even though he told her they knew eachother before she lost her memory, she felt as though she was living with a stranger. It wasn't uncomfortable, and she wasn't scared of Shigure, but she did feel scared. She was scared because she couldn't remember much of her past and she didn't have a familiar face to turn to. It was almost as if she hadn't existed before now, and was suddenly given life.

Slowly she sunk down until she was sitting in the grass, hugging the photo of her mother and crying quietly. Warm, salty tears slid down her cheeks as she closed her eyes and fell onto her skirt and the grass below.

Shigure, who had finished ordering the pizza, stepped out onto the varanda when he saw Tohru wasn't in the room anymore and spotted her sitting in the grass, hunched over. "Tohru-kun?" He said uncertainly. He heard her sniff and noticed her shoulders jerking as she cried. He slowly stepped off the varanda and walked towards her, frowning. "Tohru-kun… please don't cry… it breaks this old man's heart…" Though he said it lightheartedly, it wasn't untrue. He hated seeing her like this. Why couldn't Yuki and Kyou be here right now to help her out? She needed them, and they had run away. 

"I'm sorry, Shigure-san…" Tohru said, sobbing and hugging her mother's photo tightly. "M-maybe I should leave…"

Shigure crouched down next to her, and in a bold movement gently put his hand under her chin to lift her face so he could look in her eyes. She blinked in surprise, letting another tear fall, and Shigure delicately wiped it away. "You don't have to leave, Tohru-kun. This is your home, you're welcome here. Besides, if I were to let you go, that would make me a horrible person. You're vulnerable right now."

Tohru stared at him and sniffled, more tears welling up in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. "But… I feel…" she looked at him and stopped herself.

"What is it?" Shigure asked softly.

"I'm scared… I don't know who I am, I feel like I have no past… I feel like I have nowhere where I belong.."

"Then discard that feeling," Shigure smiled, "Because you do have somewhere where you belong. You belong right here, in my house, with me. Like I said, this is your home. You've lived happily with Yuki-kun, Kyou-kun and I for over a year now. Please. You're more than welcome here. I almost feel as though I don't deserve to be living in a house alongside such a great young woman."

"I-iie," Tohru stammered, blushing and looking away. "That's not true."

Shigure smiled caringly. "I think it is."

Tohru's entire face went red and she looked down at the ground again in embarassment. "Sh-Shigure-san is t-too kind…" she stuttered, feeling overcome with emotion. She began to cry again. Shigure felt sadness wash through him again. He was about to say something reassuring again, when suddenly Tohru leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his middle. 

"A-ah!" he exclaimed, startled. He didn't have enough time to stop her. She hugged him tightly, and in the swift moment before he turned into his dog-form he felt his heart give a few funny little beats.

Tohru gasped in surprise at the _poofing_ sound and the smoke that appeared momentarily after she hugged Shigure. When the smoke cleared she found herself hugging a large black dog. She screamed, letting him go, and moved backwards quickly.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-Shigure-san?!" She squealed in shock.

Shigure sighed. "It's okay, that's supposed to happen." He said calmly, looking straight into her eyes. "It seems you've discovered my secret for a second time, Tohru-kun." And he laughed jovially.

Tohru trembled, stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, and then fainted suddenly onto the grass. Shigure blinked.

"_That_ didn't happen last time…"

----------------------

"So… you're cursed? For your whole life?" Tohru asked in amazement. 

Shigure nodded slowly. "Unfortunately, yes. Or at least until someone breaks the curse, if that will ever happen." He was in his human-form again now, and fully clothed. Fortunately for him, Tohru had still been unconcious when he transformed back into a person, so it saved him some embarassment. He pulled a slice of pizza from a box on the table before him and placed it on a plate, which he handed to his young friend.

"But that's… so unfair." Tohru said sympathetically, frowning sadly and taking the plate. "You can't hug or get close to anyone…"

"Nope," Shigure replied, pulling a pizza slice out of the box for himself. "But what is, is. I can't do anything about it." He went to smile at her but saw the sad look on her face. "A-ah, don't be sad," he said quickly, feeling his heart beating quickly again as she gazed at him, "I'm not sad. Really. I'm used to it, so…"

"But wouldn't it have taken you a long time to become used to it?" She asked, still frowning. "If I were in the same situation, I don't think I'd be able handle it as well as you seem to…" Then she stopped and looked down at the table, blushing. "I-I'm sorry I … I hugged you, before. I feel so embarassed."

Shigure laughed softly and waved her remark off. "It's fine. You didn't know. Besides, I kind of liked it." He said jokingly, giving her a wink. She blushed more, and Shigure laughed again. "Tohru-kun always makes me smile. Won't Tohru-kun smile too?"

Silence filled the room as Tohru looked up slowly and stared at Shigure for a few moments. Then, slowly, a small but loving smile appeared on her lips and lit up her entire face. She looked just like the Tohru Shigure knew and loved, and as he watched her, his heart beat quickly inside his chest for the third time in half an hour. Like the other two times, it didn't go unnoticed by Shigure. "There… now I get to see such a lovely Tohru-kun." He grinned, but was only masking the discomfort that was now creeping up from inside him. His heart sure was acting weirdly, and he knew all too well why, though he didn't want it to be true. 

"Arigatou, Shigure-san." Tohru said politely from across the table.

"Hmm? What for?"

"For making me feel better." She replied with a smile.

Shigure smiled warmly. "Anything for Tohru-kun."


	5. Chapter 05

****

Forgotten Fruits Chapter 05

A/N: Just wanted to say thanks to R Junkie for the info you gave me when you last reviewed. Because of that, I'll go back and edit Chapter 3 some time and make up something more… uhh…Yuki-ish. XD   
Also, I would like to take this time to thank everyone who has reviewed this fic so far. It really means a lot to me, 'cause I'm trying really hard with this fic to make it something interesting and (hopefully) unique. I really appreciate all the nice and supportive reviews you guys have been giving me. ^^ Arigatou! 3 

-------------------

Tohru sat up in her bed late that night, surrounded by darkness. She had awoken suddenly for some reason, though she didn't know why. She hadn't been startled, she hadn't heard a sound, she hadn't been woken _by _anything… she had just awoken. Her eyes had fluttered open calmly, and she had sat up in the darkness.

After a few minutes her eyes became accustomed to the dark and she rubbed them tiredly. They itched with sleepiness yet somehow she was wide awake, not falling back into her slumber. She glanced around her room slowly, taking in her surroundings. Everything was void of light save for the dim streaks of moonlight filtering in through a gap in the curtains on the window above Tohru's bed. Following the beams of light with her eyes, it lead her gaze to a bookshelf on the opposite side of the room and curiously she got out of bed to take a look at the books there. As she neared them, one particular book - it looked green, though Tohru couldn't be sure in the absence of good light - in the middle of one of the higher rows caught her attention. She stood silently before the bookcase and gased at the spine of the book, which was just above her eye level, and scanned slowly over the gold lettering that spelled out the author's name.

__

Sohma Shigure.

Much more curious now, as Shigure had failed to mention he was a writer, Tohru took the book in her slim fingers and pulled it carefully from between the other books. Once it was in her hands she gazed down at the cover and ran her fingers over it as she turned and headed back towards her bed. There was a lamp on a small table beside her bed that she could read under. She was curious to see how this man she had supposedly lived with for over a year wrote, and what kind of stories he wrote.

She sat down on her large bed, not bothering to get under the covers again as it was quite a hot summer night, and turned the lamp on. When she glanced back down at the book sitting in her lap again, she was surprised to find there was no title. It simple had a solid green cover with the kanji _Sohma Shigure_ printed in shining gold in the center. Tohru couldn't make sense of this. Why wouldn't Shigure's book have a title? Perhaps this was one of those books that had come with a paper jacket, but the jacket had been lost. Still, didn't even those books have the title on the actual cover?

Tohru ran her fingers to the edge of the hard green cover and began to slowly pull it open, but was startled when a voice filled her ears.

"Honda… Tohru-san..?" came the soft voice seemingly from nowhere. Alarmed, Tohru snapped her head upwards and her eyes fell upon a figure sitting on the end of her bed. 

  
"Sh-Shigure-san?" She stammered, heart pounding. The figure's head moved so that its face was in the light from Tohru's bedside lamp, and Tohru discovered that it wasn't Shigure at all. Her heart leapt up to her throat in fright as the strange man smiled at her, his dark hair draping down the sides of his face.

"I am Shigure's cousin. Sohma _Akito_," he smiled, and a cruel coldness flashed in his eyes as he did so. Tohru, though feeling nervous with this strange new person sitting on the end of her bed, couldn't help but wonder if he was one of the juunishi like Shigure.

"S-s-sumimasen," she apologised quickly, forgetting Shigure's book which still sat in her lap. "I'm pleased to meet you!" She bowed her head respectively and Akito smiled, looking around the room.

"It seems Shigure has been treating you well," He said, ignoring Tohru's politeness. "He's bought you this lovely comfortable bed, given you a room in his house…"

"A-ano," Tohru stuttered. She didn't know what to do; she felt _very_ uncomfortable having this man - supposedly Shigure's cousin - coming and sitting on her bed in the middle of the night, trying to have a conversation with her. She wanted to call out for Shigure, but if she did, what would Akito do? "Hai, he is very kind. A-Akito-san is very lucky to have such a great cousin." She said kindly.

A harshness came to Akito's voice then. "I don't need someone like you telling me whether I'm lucky or not." He growled, and a new bout of fear flooded into Tohru's chest. "You know nothing about me." He got to his feet and slowly began to advance on her, the light from the bedside lamp illuminating his features eerily. "And you know nothing about Shigure. You can never understand our curse…"

"A-Akito-sa--" Tohru began, but was cut off as a pair of icy cold hands wrapped themselves tightly around her throat, restricting her voice. She let out a choked scream.

-------------------

"You've failed me, Shigure. And I thought I could count on you especially."

Shigure's eyes snapped open. "Akito?" He whispered into darkness, sitting up. Suddenly his blood froze in his veins as a scream filled his ears. "Tohru!!" He exclaimed, leaping out of bed. He ran straight to her room, flung the door open and thought he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure standing beside Tohru's bed, but it was so dark in the room he was sure he imagined it. Frantically his hand groped the wall for a light switch, but after a few moments his clumsy fingers finally found what they were searching for and he flicked the light on before dashing to Tohru. She was tossing and turning in her bed, her face contorted with upset and her arms flailing about.

"Tohru-kun, Tohru-kun!" Shigure said loudly, grabbing her arms gently and ceasing their movement. Tohru continued to struggle for a few moments but then her eyes slowly opened and she stared straight up into Shigure's wide eyes.

"Shi..gure-san?" She murmured, her eyes darting about. "Only Shigure-san?"

"It's only Shigure-san," Shigure sighed, letting go of Tohru's arms and sitting down gently on the edge of her bed. "You were having a nightmare." He explained with relief.

Tohru slowly sat up, and Shigure noticed that her hands went straight to her neck, rubbing the skin. "What's wrong?" He asked curiously.

"I thought I got attacked," Tohru said shakily, rubbing at her neck. "It felt real…" She paused for a few moments and looked at Shigure, whose pyjama sleeves had been pushed up. Her eyes glanced over the bandages tightly wrapped around his forearms and then moved up to his neck. Shigure, noticing her glance, looked back at her worriedly.

"What is it?" He asked quietly.

"Did Shigure-san get attacked also?" She asked, shock prominent in her brown eyes. "Did Akito-san try to strangle you, too?"

Shigure froze. "What did you say?" He asked. "Did you say Akito…?"

"Akito-san, the man who was attacking me in my dream," Tohru replied quickly. "Shigure-san-- I noticed your bruises earlier, but I didn't say anything about them because I thought it was none of my business-- but- but- Akito-san--" she was panicking.

"Tohru-kun, calm down," Shigure said in a reassuring voice. "What did this man in your dream look like? Can you describe him to me?"

"He-- ano--" She stammered, thinking hard. The more she tried to picture his face, the more it faded from her memory. "Ano… I can't… I can't remember…" Tears of frustration began to well up in her eyes. "I can't remember!"

"Daijoubu, daijoubu," Shigure murmured placidly. 

"He said his name was Akito-san. That I can remember… but I've never seen him before in my life." Tohru explained, out of breath from her outburst. She wiped at her eyes. "Gomen nasai, Shigure-san…"

"_Daijoubu_," Shigure repeated, this time with a gentle smile. "It doesn't matter. It was just a nightmare. Not real…"

"But…" Tohru said quietly, "Shigure-san… who did that to you?" She motioned towards the bruises on his neck. Shigure brought a hand up to gently rub at the abrasions, and looked across at the opposite side of the room.  
  
"It doesn't matter, Tohru-kun." He replied, and his voice had a sense of finality in it. Tohru wanted to ask him why, but she knew the conversation was over. Shigure had decided that.

"Ano… Shigure-san?" Tohru said cautiously.

"Hmm?"

"How did my memories get erased?" she asked. "Was it the man who was here earlier?"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence in which Tohru stared straight at Shigure and Shigure stared down at the floor. "Mm," He replied quietly after a few moments. "Hatori. He has the power to erase memories."

"But why me…?" 

"Well, you know the secret you learned about me earlier today? About me being cursed?"

"Hai…"

"It was because of that."

Tohru suddenly felt very cold. "But.. but if I had to forget that, then… why am I allowed to know now…?"

Shigure smiled with an amused expression. "You're not."

Whatever thoughts Tohru had in her mind before then suddenly disappeared. She didn't know what to say to that.

"Try to get back to sleep, okay?" Shigure said, changing the subject and looking at the clock on Tohru's bedside table. "It's four o'clock… there's a few more hours of the night left. Try to get some more sleep in, you must be tired." He looked at her and gave a kind and loving smile.

"Hai, Shigure-san…" Tohru slowly wriggled her way back into her warm blankets, then watched as Shigure stood from the bed and tucked the covers gently around her so she would be warm and comfortable. She gazed up at him as he pulled the covers up to her shoulders for her, and caught his glance. He seemed to hesitate about something for a moment, but then he stood up straight and backed away from the bed.

"Goodnight, Tohru-kun," He said lightly as he left the room, switching the light off on his way out. Tohru was plunged into darkness. 

Shigure didn't go back to bed. For a long while he sat outside on the veranda, enjoying the feeling of the cool summer night air on his face and thinking deeply as a cigarette hung from his lips. He had a terrible feeling of foreboding creeping up from his stomach and he didn't like it one bit. Something strange was at work here, and he didn't know what. He felt as though he was groping around for something blindly in the dark, and he _hated_ being in the dark. Just what was Akito up to? He had to be up to something. It was all wrong… the way Akito's room had felt so cold and horrible, the way his hands had felt like ice and his grip had been so strong.. and what was with this dream Tohru had?

Shigure thought about the previous day's events, also. Why is it that when Hatori went to erase only some of her memory, the whole lot was lost? This was only the first time it had happened, too, as Hatori had said. What was the meaning of all of this? Did Akito do something? 

Shigure decided he didn't want to just think anymore. Throwing his cigarette onto the ground and stamping it out as he got to his feet, he knew he had to do something, for Tohru's safety. For his safety. For the safety of even the others.

He walked inside again and this time went straight to the phone. 

-------------------

Hatori was woken in the early hours of the morning by his phone's piercing ring. Grumbling, he pulled himself out of bed and sluggishly went to the phone in his living room, almost dropping it as he picked up the receiver.

"Moshimoshi." He muttered almost inaudibly.

"Ha-san, I sorry to-"

"What the hell are you calling me at this time for?!" Hatori asked angrily, glancing at a clock on the wall. "It's almost half past four!!"

"Ha-san, please, hear me out. I'm sorry I've called so early, but I need a favour."

"Not right _now_, surely?" Hatori asked in disbelief.

"Well, no, not right now… but later, when it's light. Ha-san, I need you to drive Tohru-kun and I someplace."

There was a long pause. "What?" Hatori asked.

"You heard what I said." came Shigure's quiet voice. He didn't sound sleepy or tired at all. In fact, he sounded wide awake, except he also sounded... depressed. This worried Hatori a little, because it was extremely out of character for his friend.

"I know," He replied, "I'm just not seeing the sense in this. Where do you want to go, Shigure? And why?"

"I want to go away from my house. To a place where no one will find Tohru-kun and I. Well, except you, because you'll be driving us there." Shigure explained. 

"Are you drunk?!" Hatori asked suddenly. "What is the meaning of this?" Was he trying to run away with _Tohru_?

"Something's not right, Ha-san. Something is weird with Akito. I need to take Tohru-kun away for a while, to a place where she can be safe. I'm the only one she has right now. I have to protect her."

"What do you mean, something's not right with Akito?" Hatori asked carefully.

"Ha-san, tell me you've noticed it." Shigure said desperately. "His room is so cold, yet he's not getting sick. His hands, they're like - like icicles, and his strength has suddenly skyrocketed. You saw what he did to me; what he's capable of. He's not usually like that. And…" Shigure's voice trailed of.

"And?" Hatori pressed on. "And what?"

"Tohru-kun had a nightmare about him." Shigure replied gravely.

"So what?" Hatori said. "People can have nightmares about anything."

"But, Ha-san… Tohru-kun hasn't ever met Akito since her memory was erased. She doesn't know who he is. She's never seen him or heard of him. Normally a person can't dream about someone they've never heard of."

Hatori froze on the spot. Shigure was absolutely right.

"I… I thought something weird was going on, but… how can it be…?" Hatori whispered.

"Please, Ha-san. Take us away somewhere. I need some time to help her get her memories back, and to keep her away from Akito. Whatever happens, he _can't_ find us."

"But where do you want to go? Where is there that you can stay that Akito doesn't know about?" Hatori asked, wondering.

"Your cabin." Shigure replied stiffly.

There was a long pause as Hatori forgot how to speak. Then finally he managed to stammer, "What?! How did you know about my cabin? I've told nobody about that."

"There are lots of things I know about." Shigure said simply. Hatori scowled at the phone.

"You're devious, Shigure."

"I know." He sounded almost proud. "So can we use it?"

Hatori sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. I'll come and pick you up later. But keep in mind I'm only doing this because it's for Tohru-kun's benefit."

"Arigatou, Ha-san. You can come and get us at around nine."

"That's quite early. You won't have much time to pack things…"

"I'm going to do all the packing now."

"You're nuts."

"I'll see you later, Ha-san." There was a _click_ and Hatori knew Shigure had already hung up. He sighed once again, dropped the receiver back onto the telephone and, shaking his head, retreated to his bed.

-------------------

Shigure decided he would pack his own things first, that way it would give Tohru a chance to go back to sleep and he could sneak into her room later to pack things without her knowing. He would rather her not know about the sudden trip they were about to make and that he was packing; she _needed_ to rest and he knew that if he told her about all of this she would make a fuss and want to help pack.

So pack he did. He found two large suitcases that he hadn't used in years and began to throw some of his things into one. He grabbed some clothes, shoes, a few books, neccessities such as tooth brushes and the like, and of course his writing journal that he always jotted down short stories, poetry and ideas in. Despite the fact that something serious was going on (he knew not what it was though), he could never leave his writing journal behind. Sad as it was, he practically _lived_ for that thing. It brought him peace and solace when he needed it most; it gave him a passtime when he was bored; it gave him an outlet when he was depressed. It was a very important possession to him and he valued it greatly.

He didn't bother to pack things like towels and flannels and soap - he knew Hatori's cabin already had all of those things, including beds with comfortable blankets and pillows with soft pillowcases. He also knew that Hatori visited his cabin regularly, so it would more than likely have a full fridge. As he wandered about, deciding what to and what not to pack, a smirk found its way onto Shigure's face when he remembered Hatori's reaction to him knowing about the cabin.

The truth was, one day while Shigure had been in a particularly sneaky and playful mood, he had called Ayame. For a while they had been wondering where he would disappear to suddenly every now and then after the incident with Kana, and after secretly following him they had discovered he had his very own cabin. He had probably spent a lot of time there in secret with Kana, which is why he never told anybody about it. 

Shigure felt a little bad at taking his friend's private place, but if Hatori had really minded he would have objected to taking him and Tohru. With that thought he finished packing his things and headed off into Tohru's room, hauling a suitcase with him, to pack things for her.

It had been about an hour since Tohru's nightmare. When Shigure quietly walked into the room he was happy to see she was sleeping soundly and peacefully. She was still, not tossing and turning like before, and looked very content. A smile emerged on Shigure's lips.

Despite how often he threw Tohru perverted comments which always got him in trouble with Yuki and Kyou, Shigure couldn't help but feel a little guilty as he went through her drawers. Anyone who knew him would have thought he'd be delighted at the chance to go through a girl's room, but he had a niggling in his chest that told him this was very wrong. He had to pack for her though, so this had to be done, and done maturely. 

…Or not.

Shigure found himself only choosing to pack the clothes that he thought Tohru would look the cutest in, and grinning mischievously as he did so. He was just holding up an adorable spaghetti-strap top to the moonlight when he heard...

"Ano… Shigure-san?" 

The man nearly died of a heart attack. He spun around quickly and stared at Tohru with wide eyes. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Tohru-kun!" He quickly said, throwing the top into the suitcase and hoping she hadn't seen him studying it so closely. "You're meant to be sleeping." He gave the most innocent smile he could muster, which, in the end turned out looking the exact _opposite_ of innocent.

"I heard you rummaging around…" Tohru said cautiously, staring at him in suspicion. "What are you doing, Shigure-san?"

"Well… that is…" He sighed. "I'm packing things for you, Tohru-kun."

"Huh? Why?" She asked naively. 

"We're going to go somewhere later on. But please, rest for now. I can pack these things for you myself."

"What? Where are we going? And let me help you--" She climbed out of bed.

"Iie, Tohru-kun. I've got it--"

"But, Shigure-san should worry about his own things--"

"I've already packed mine."

"I don't want to be a burden on Shigure-san--"

"You're not being a burden, Tohru-kun." 

"But--"

"Tohru-kun!!" Shigure bellowed, making the young girl jump and freeze on the spot in the middle of the bedroom. She stared at him with wide, unsure eyes. Shigure smiled matter-of-factly. "Go back to sleep."

She hesitated.

"Go back to sleep, Tohru-kun…" Shigure left the suitcase where it was for now and walked towards her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders, whirling her around and leading her over to her bed.

"But, Shigure-san-- I'm confu-"

"I'll explain it all later. But you need your rest."

Tohru forced herself to stop and quickly turned around to face Shigure. She was sandwiched between the taller man and the bed. "Shigure-san needs rest too, if we're going somewhere!" She exclaimed, staring up at him with detirmination.

Shigure paused for a moment and was going to retort when he quickly stopped himself, seeing what she was doing. "Ohh, no. You're not going to turn this situation around. Go to sleep." He persisted, though an amused smile was on his face now.

Tohru frowned and turned to face the bed again, visibly drooping. Shigure looked at her curiously. She didn't seem to be moving.

"Hey--"

All of a sudden Tohru grabbed the pillow off her bed, whirled around and whapped Shigure right in the face with it, giving him a mouthful of pillow. He let out a muffled cry as it hit and stumbled backwards. Tohru giggled playfully and swung the pillow again, as Shigure cried "Waaaah, watch out for my arms!", but this time he was quick and managed to throw his hands up to grab it before it could hit him properly.

"Ahh!" Tohru squealed as Shigure began to pull on it, laughing. 

"You should be more careful around an injured man!!" Shigure chuckled, though he hadn't been hurt by her or the pillow at all. He began to pull even harder on the pillow, trying to free it from Tohru's grasp. He was much stronger than her and she found herself being tugged forward by the older man, no matter how hard she tried to snatch her pillow back.

"I've got you now--" Shigure began, but all of a sudden Tohru lost her footing and fell forward, smacking into him. With a yell they tumbled to the floor in a giggling heap and landed with a loud _thud_ on the wood. "Owww…" Shigure winced. He opened his eyes to find Tohru lying half on and half off him; she had fallen right onto his chest. He braced himself for transformation but none came. Tohru stared at him. "Why haven't I transformed?" He asked in confusion, blinking.

"I don't kno-- oh!" Tohru looked down at the pillow that was between them, still laughing a bit. "Maybe it's because of this. And since I'm not actually _hugging_ you, I'm just lying on you, it probably--" she suddenly stopped and blushed as she realised she was lying right on Shigure's chest.

Shigure stared up into Tohru's wide eyes and shifted uncomfortably as he realised how close they actually were. His heart skipped a few beats inside his chest and the two of them lay there in shocked silence for a few moments. Finally Tohru sat up hastily, stammering "S-sumimasen!!" nervously. Shigure slowly sat up once she was off him, giving an embarrassed smile. He rubbed at his sore back gingerly.

"Oh no! Is Shigure-san hurt??" Tohru asked, her voice filled with worry. Shigure gave another smile and waved her comment off.

"Iie, I'm okay." He assured her, and she smiled. Silence filled the room for a few moments but then Shigure snatched up the pillow in his lap. Laughing, he flung it at Tohru, who fell backwards in laughter.

-------------------

A/N: Aww. ^^; I wanted to put a bit of lightheartedness into this chapter since there hasn't been much of it in this fic so far.


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